The Next Best Book Club discussion

I've just finished Colony Earth: The Alterran Legacy Series. A very well done sic-fi/fantasy dramatic romance! Well, at least it has a little of all of that.
What I liked about it the most was that it draws you into caring about what happens to the characters.

Just finished The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler and It was as good as anticipated. Now starting by Elly Griffiths the first in the Ruth Galloway Series.

Jackie wrote: "Just started to read The Bonesetters Daughter by Amy Tan."

My F2F book club read this a few years back. We all really liked it.

Finished reading The Yard Dog by Sheldon Russell – 3***
Set in 1940s Oklahoma, this debut mystery is centered on Hook Runyon, a railroad detective – a/k/a yard dog. The book has some flaws – the women and bad guys are thinly drawn, and the ending is rushed. However, I found the plot interesting and I really like the central characters of Hook and Runt. I would read another in the series.
Link to my full review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Finished the audio version of For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (Audio book narrated by Campbell Scott) – 4****
Robert Jordan is a young American who has come to the mountains of Spain during the Spanish Civil War, with orders to blow up a bridge behind enemy lines. Hemingway’s short declarative sentences tell the story in a way that puts the reader right in the action. However, he misses the mark a few times. There are long internal monologues that do little to advance the story, and the love scenes between Maria and Robert are awkward at best. However, the battle scenes are exceptionally well done. On the whole I enjoyed it and can see why it is considered a classic. While there are some problems with the book, when it’s good, it’s very good. The ending is brilliant.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've gone classic with The Island of Dr. Moreau. H.G. Wells knew how to write.

I am half way through Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. Very different read, about life in a women's prison, by a well-educated gal who writes very well. Love it.

Karen M wrote: "I've gone classic with The Island of Dr. Moreau. H.G. Wells knew how to write."

Karen, have you read The Time Machine? That's the only one of his I've read, but it was a fairly fast read.

I started The Perks of Being a Wallflower yesterday and am about a third of the way in so far.

I didn't nkwo that was a book, they made it into a series on Netflix and it is getting good reviews

above comment was on "orange is the new black"

I am really enjoying Zeitounright now, also listening to The Woman Upstairsand its a good listen but not sure it would hold my interest in print, good reader but story drags..and listening I can get the jist and fade in and out.

Reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See...cant put it down.

Going to start The Accident by Linwood Barclay

I finished Firestarter and have now started The Well of Ascension.

I'm reading too many books at the moment. :/ But the one I'm reading a lot is I started it last night, and just about finished it now!

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

I'm currently The Start Up Of Your By Reid Hoffman. I'm 23 and this is a must read for anyone my age. It focuses on how readers can take action in their life goals/plans by incorporating entrepreneurial skills from Silicon Valley start ups. It has been very easy to read and I plan to finish it today. I would also highly recommend Growth Market Hacking By Ryan Holiday which came out this week.

Finished reading To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn – 3***
Book # 3 in the Chet and Bernie mystery series has our man-and-dog duo on the trail of a missing elephant trainer, and his elephant, Peanut, while also working a divorce case that hits a little too close to home. I’ve read the first three in the series in pretty close succession, and I’m really noticing a pattern / formula. I’m still entertained, however.
Link to my full review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I'm going to start reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Started Gideon by Russell Andrews last night. Grabbed me right away.

Just started Mockingbird because a couple GoodReads members recommended it as an excellent dystopian story, and so far I completely agree.

The Passage

I just finished The Valentine's Card By Juliet Ashton and I am now currently reading Digital Fortress By Dan Brown.

Just finished the Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths, first in the Ruth Galloway series. Good read.
Now starting by J.T. Ellison

WOW, WOW, WOW. A dark, gritty and emotional tale of secrets, family, love, loss and evil. I absolutely loved this book from a debut author. Not for the faint of heart. I highly recommend for a group read. There is much to discuss!! This author researches bold, taboo topics and raises awareness for them through reading fiction. A must read, that will tug hard on your heartstrings. It is disturbing in parts but does not get too graphic despite what other reviewers are saying. It never even goes into the rape scenes. People are just too squeamish and can take anything these days. Warning: It is also known to make grown men cry. It brought my husband to tears and I have only ever seen him cry one other time.
First Night of Summer

finished the husband's secret starting once we were brothers

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen

Finished reading The Book of Someday by Dianne Dixon – ZERO stars
This has to be one of the worst books I've ever read. The writing is terrible. The characters are one-dimensional. The dialogue is ridiculous. I rolled my eyes so much I made myself dizzy. The plot is a mess. Save yourselves … don’t bother with this one.
Link to my full review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Book Concierge wrote: "

The Grapes of Wrath
– John Steinbeck
Audio book performed by Dylan Baker
5*****

When we first meet Tom Joad he has been walking for miles, newly paroled f..."
I should reread this one, I loved it when we read it in high school. I think I read it sometime last year, so it hasn't been too long. It has been too long since I read anything I thought was as good.

Hey everyone! I'm new to the group! Glad to be here :).

I just finished reading A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan. After perusing reviews of this book, it seems a number of people are critical of the time jumps Egan employed while piecing this narrative together. However, it seems to me that the complexity underlying those jumps allowed for greater character development in much less space. My feelings for Bennie, Sasha, Lulu, Jocelyn, Lou, and the others intensified precisely because of a brief but pointed appearance each of them made in a previous chapter and in another time.

At first glimpse it seems that these characters are miserable without ever choosing to be better, that they wither and age—or die—on a willful trajectory of self-destruction. But growth and change happens in subtle shifts that are often difficult to pinpoint—even within ourselves—and the path toward betterment is most often very long and rarely explosive. Egan captures this subtlety while also coloring the arduous road through time with precise and piercing insight and language.

Now I've started reading the The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht.

Book Concierge wrote: "

The Grapes of Wrath
– John Steinbeck
Audio book performed by Dylan Baker
5*****

When we first meet Tom Joad he has been walking for miles, newly paroled f..."

Loved this book! So intense and beautiful!

Komal wrote: "Finished [bookcover:The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillm..."

To Kill a Mockingbird is such a lovely story, and we learn so much about the world through the eyes of a willful girl :).

I finished Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday. Its a excellent read because it details how companies like Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Airbnb, and Evernote have built their wealth and following without using traditional marketing techniques. It shows how customer feedback and input throughout the development of a product is more successful than throwing TV ads, publicity, and interviews to convince people to buy a product.

Finished listening to the audio of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (and Jane Austen) – 3.5 *** (Audio performed by Katherine Kellgren)
This book fulfilled a challenge to read from a genre that I normally avoid. I wasn’t expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised by this take-off on Jane Austen’s classic Regency Romance. Grahame-Smith was smart to use many of Miss Austen’s own words and dialogue. Most of the references to the “unmentionables” are nicely woven into the plot. There are a few longer scenes that really forced me out of the period, but even these are pretty entertaining. I’m thinking of Elizabeth demonstrating her prowess against Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s ninjas. Bravo, Lizzy!
Link to my full review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

by Benjamin Black aka John Banville

If you just finished the Wizard of Oz, this novel was unbelievable:
Recommended for anyone interested in that book or film or Judy Garland

Heather L wrote: "Finished The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum last night before bed. It was interesting rereading this so many years later. There were some chapters I remembered, and probably just as many I..."

I'm stocking up reads for my holiday next week, I've just downloaded Eternal Beauty Return Of The Runaway Bride Sam's Letters to Jennifer Dawn's Death

Jasmine wrote: "If you just finished the Wizard of Oz, this novel was unbelievable:
Recommended for anyone interested in that book or film or Judy Garland..."

Thanks for the recommendation, Jasmine!

Currently reading a cozy mystery, Sealed with a Kill by Lucy Lawrence (AKA Jenn McKinlay).

I'm reading and so far it is really good. On audio, I am listening to by Maeve Binchy. This is the first of hers I've read and its really quite good.

I'm recently started reading The Book Thief and about to start listening to Lonesome Dove

Heather L wrote: "Karen M wrote: "I've gone classic with The Island of Dr. Moreau. H.G. Wells knew how to write."

Karen, have you read The Time Machine? That's the only one of his I've read, but it was a fairly fa..."

Yes, I've read that one and I've also read The Invisible Man. For anyone who has a Kindle, many of his books are in public domain so you can go to Project Guttenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page and download for free. Search on "H. G. Wells" and tons of books come up.

Alicia: I'm recently started reading The Book Thief and about to start listening to Lonesome Dove

Both are really good books, enjoy!

I'm reading Red Moon by Benjamin Percy. Even though the political commentary is a little obvious at times, I have to appreciate using the Supernatural/Werewolf theme for something new.

Just finished The Tiger's Wife:

While I appreciated the skill behind this interwoven combination of fable and contemporary story—which calls for a level of restraint on the writer’s part not to over-explain—I was nonetheless left with a sense of disconnect. Captivated by the tales of the deathless man, riveted by the account of the Tiger’s wife, I felt the emotional relationship between Natalia and her grandfather was a bit dry, that something profound and great between them had only been touched upon, then released too early before it could fully settle in me. This was even more so with Natalia and her best friend Zora. The bonds between these characters rested too heavily on the fables that I’m sure were meant to illuminate them. But the fables were far more captivating than Natalia’s efforts to make sense of them in relation to her grandfather, in relation to war, in relation to her friendship with Zora, in relation to all that was lost and gained by so much struggle and loss.

And yet, the writing was beautiful, and I find myself still thinking about the story, still trying to make sense of it. Any great story will do that to you.

About to start Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending.

I read today and finished a book called the Letters From A Self-Made Merchant To His Son by George Horace Lorimer. The book consists of letters that a millionaire merchant sends to his son. These letters span from when his son just started college, when he gets out and starts working for his father's company, and when he is about to get married. It is packed with great advice. Honestly, I wish my father gave me such sound advice when I needed it at crucial times I doubted myself early in my post-grad life. The book is free on Project Gutenberg. Highly recommend.

Just finished reading the new book by Amanda Ripley called The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way. The book explores the education systems of 3 countries that perform very well on international tests: South Korea, Finland and Poland (with the aim of helping America find a way out of its education woes). Some very interesting insights here. I've written a full executive summary of the book available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/09/12...

I'm just going to start The Sea Sisters by Lucy Clarke. Think it had a different title in the U.S.

I'm reading a really fun mystery called The Clockwork Scarab which is also YA and steampunk. I'm finding I really enjoy steampunk which is a new genre for me this year.

Hi Karen

I don't think I even know what steam punk is, what is it?

Started The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn. Wickedly smart...a great read.

Hiya Scott!

They look great, just looked them up after your comment - going to add them to my TBR pile.