You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Please read through the reporting thread carefully to ensure to report correctly to get your badge/s.

After you have read your chosen book(s) for this month's group theme read, please report in the thread below.

Please state what book you read (and link it), that you discussed it (and where), and briefly summarise what you thought of the book and/or link to your review if you have written one.

If you lead the discussion, please state this in your post.

Here is an example for how to report your read:
“I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and discussed it in the [Harry Potter/Buddy Read/Other books in theme] thread. I really enjoyed the book. I watched the film first so I already knew the storyline but I was surprised how much I enjoyed the book more as there was more detail involved. Plus I listened to the audio which was narrated by Stephen Fry who is a superb narrator. 4 stars.”

If you read more than one book which fits the theme, please report all your reads in the same post rather than in separate posts.

Please note, there are THREE different badges that can be obtained for group reads. Those reading and discussing one of the two chosen group reads will receive a colourful badge similar to those for previous group reads. Those reading and discussing any other book in the theme will receive a stamp. The discussion leader for the two chosen group reads will receive a badge stating they led the discussion. Maximum amount of badges you can receive for the group reads is TWO - one for the chosen group read/discussion leader and one for any other book in the theme.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have read the book(s) before or during September 2016.
2. discussed it in the relevant thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in that thread.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread below, along with a brief summary of what you thought.

I read Don't Twunk With My Heart and discussed in the approrpiate thread.
(which has a lake on the cover)

Renae Kaye is one of my all time favourite m/m authors and she didn't dissapoint with this one either.
It was fun, it was sweet, but not fluff as the story has some substance to it - I loved it.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Tempest by William Shakespeare and discussed in it in the discussion thread. I hated that as I read/ listened to the book, every time the character, Ariel, speaks my mind flashes to the mermaid in the Disney movie. Ughh - how to ruin Shakespeare! In typical Shakespearean fashion, the book is filled with conflict, romance, magic/mysticism, violence - everything needed for a great story.

I read Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts and discussed it in the discussion thread. The book mostly takes place in a beach town and is a murder mystery, drama, and romantic suspense rolled into one. The hero is depressed after dealing with the aftermath of his wife's betrayal and murder. The heroine is making her way after some trauma in her past. They are very different people, but are brought together when he goes to house-sit for his grandmother after she's injured and finds that the heroine, who is his grandmother's housekeeper, is compelled to take core of others and finds she is more than she seems. There is also a pirate treasure mystery tied to his family's past that plays a significant role in the plot.

I read The Lifeboat and discussed it in the relevant thread. I am also the discussion leader, along with Cherie.

Oh boy, where to begin?! I didn't like this book at all, it's by far the worst book I have read this year. It is only 337 pages in length but it felt like double that amount and it just wasn't worth the effort in my opinion. It's a shame because it had a lot of potential that just wasn't realised. Still, at least I will get another group read badge out of it :) Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Last Rituals. I am the discussion leader for the book.

I've not read a scandi/nordic crime for a while and this one reminded me why i like the genre. It wasn't the best in the genre, there were a few discrepancies and possibly a few "lost in translation" moments, especially at the beginning of the book. But it was still a good read. I liked how the history of Icelandic and European witch hunts etc were weaved in to the storyline. I would probably read the remaining books in the series although I'm not rushing out to but them. I rated it 4 stars.

This month I read The Lifeboat and discussed it in the group discussion thread. I don't have the strong negative feelings about this book as Lisa does! It had such a strong beginning, I thought it was going to be a real page turner, but alas ... I don't recall ever reading a book with so many loose ends. It was a quick read, and I was left feeling ambivalent about the characters and the book itself.

I also read The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb and discussed it in the September wet theme thread. This wonderful book was set in modern-day Vietnam, within a social and cultural context. One of the main characters was Old Man Hu'ng, an elderly pho seller. It is through his eyes the reader sees the atrocities of war and the attempts of a group of artists to keep Vietnamese art culture alive during this period. This was truly a lovely, warm book, and I highly recommend it.

I finished reading At the Water's Edge and discussed it in the discussion thread. It was my first book by the author. When I started reading, I realized I had read till about 20% perhaps a year before when the book was up for release as I had a review copy. However, somewhere after that either I got busy or gave up on the book. Anyhow, I am thankful the theme gave me a reason to finish it off in less than three days. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The writing was beautiful and I do love myself a historical fiction. It had been so long since I read one. Also, all the references to the Loch reminded me of my trip last year to Scotland and now I regret not having gone to Inverness due to lack of time.

The plot was strong and impactful, the writing beautiful and the pace kept me interested throughout. Definitely a 4 star for me.

I read and discussed the The Lifeboat in the discussion thread. I did not like it and have given it two stars. It probably should have been one. The story line held so much promise that was sadly unresolved and unrealized. None of the characters were likeable. There wasn't enough real information to know them or see them clearly. All of the action in the story was told with a vague and unemotional delivery. I felt manipulated and used by the author and publisher and I regret spending my money on this book.

I also read Last Rituals and discussed it in the group read thread. Not my favorite book for Iceland, but it was an interesting story. I liked it more than the other group read book though. The story line was initially interesting but then it lagged for me. I'm not sure I believed in any of the characters. As more things were revealed and the action picked up toward the end, I liked it better, along with the main character. I cannot believe that any of the black magic stuff was really believed by the college students in the story, but I guess the author thought they could. I thought the witch craft information and the Icelandic history were more interesting than the murder investigation.

I also read Letters from Skye and discussed it in the Buddy Read thread. I felt the same way about the book as Roz indicated in her message. I really enjoy letter formatted stories and this one kept me guessing at what was going to happen, right up to the very end.

I read The Lifeboat and discussed it in its thread. I gave it two stars for the great premise. Unfortunately the outcome didn't meet my expectations. The writing is good, buy not remarkable. The plot is inconsistent, and the characters flat. It was only 276 pages, but it seemed like a chunkster!

I read The Lifeboat and discussed it in the appropriate thread. Although the narrator is unreliable and a horrible person, I enjoyed the book, giving it 4 stars, because I like trying to analyze the characters in the survival situation.

I read Thunderstruck and gave it 3 stars. Not my favorite by the author but mostly because I had little interest in the one side of the story and had already read about the other character earlier this year in a great hist-fic piece. I discussed this over in the wet theme folder.

I've also chimed in over in the folder for The Lifeboat having read that earlier this year.

I just want to mention that I'm currently reading The Age of Daredevils which is a great book for this theme but it's not out until Oct 1. It was a kindle first book but fits this theme perfectly!

I read Last Rituals and gave it 3 stars. I discussed it in the thread for the book.

I liked the story well enough and thought the historical information was interesting. I too think the translation may be a bit weird in showing how the 2 main characters interact with each other.

It is a good start to a series and I may read more if I get to it.

This month I read two "wet" books: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time and Sphere.

Longitude was a buddy read. I discussed it in the buddy read thread and, to a lesser extent, in the "wet" thread. I enjoyed the first half of the book, as we learned about how John Harrison came to solve the longitude problem by building an extremely accurate clock so that ships at sea could compare local time to the time in their home port. I found the second part of the book less enjoyable, as Harrison struggled for recognition and seemed to be blocked and bullied at every turn. In the end I gave it three stars.

"Sphere" is a totally different sort of book, but, like Longitude, I enjoyed the first half much more than the second. A team of scientists is assembled to investigate a mysterious, apparently alien, ship found deep in ocean waters. Like Jurassic Park, watching the set-up and the early challenges is fun. The developing team dynamics are interesting. But at some point the book switched gears and became very hokey. By the end, it was almost like a totally different book. I found the ending very unsatisfying, and I would go so far as to call it a cheat.

I finished Letters from Skye.

It was a super quick read, I was done before I realized.

I liked the letter format, they were quick and easy to read. I enjoyed the book in general and the mystery of what happened kept me reading. But I never really connected to the characters, it feels like it could have been more. It's one of those books that if someone asks me whether to read it, I'd say 'sure, read it, it's a nice book.' But it's not a book that I will be recommending to people without being asked about it. I'll give it 3 stars.

I read The Lifeboat and discussed it in the appropriate thread.

This was an okay read for me. On the one hand it intrigued me and kept me reading to find out what happens. On the other hand, as others have said, the characters fell flat and there were too many unanswered questions. It did make for an interesting discussion though.

I read Hope in Every Raindrop by Wesley Banks.
The title sounds wet and even though it doesn't rain all the time, there is some heavy rain, which is very important to the story, since it ends a fire!
Really nice story - 4 stars. (I discussed it in the wet theme thread).

I read Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time and finally finished Moby-Dick; or, The Whale!! Which is 'wet' by coincidence.

I discussed Longitude in the buddy read thread and wrote a review here...

The two books complimented each other, I'd never really considered the difficulties of maritime navigation before and longitude gave me new insight into the dangers aboard the Pequod (the ship in Moby Dick). Getting lost at sea and floundering on rocks was a real danger... the superstitions of a crew trying to find signposts in a chaotic voyage really make sense now.

I read The Water Knife and was a solid 4 stars. Did and am discussing in other thread. Grim oitlook on future of the water war about to come if somethings fon't change soon. We as a world waste far too muvh water and its gonna bite us ib the bum. Again PB writes a terrifying graphic dystopian novel

Travis of NNY wrote: "I read The Water Knife and was a solid 4 stars. Did and am discussing in other thread. Grim oitlook on future of the water war about to come if somethings fon't change soon. We as a..."

I read that book earlier this year. Have you read any of his other books? The Windup Girl is good too and makes you think about our food supply.

I read Last Rituals and discussed it in the reporting thread. I am wavering between 2 & 3 stars - the opening was great, the format effective, the plot predictable but credible. The resolution was very good.
The problems for me were minimal description of setting/atmosphere, implausible characters and dialogue. Some of this may be due to the translation.

I, also, read Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time and discussed it in the buddy read thread. It is interesting, very well written but be sure to the illustrated version.
I also recommnend Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love which is also by Dava Sobel

Naomi, Windup girl was the first group read I participated in with this group. Even with the group discuasion it just wasn't my cup of tea though

Naomi wrote: "I read that book earlier this year. Have you read any of his other books? The Windup Girl is good too and makes you think about our food supply. "

I know you were asking Travis but i thought I'd answer too :-) Bacigalupi is one of my favourite authors. I have enjoyed all of the books I've read by him. He can't write fast enough in my opinion. If you've not read it already, his short story collection Pump Six and Other Stories is really good and contains a couple from both the windup girl and water knife worlds!

I shoukd add that dystopia is hit and miss for me. Definitely not a favorite genre but occasionally tgey can hit tge spot

So, I read The Lifeboat, and discussed it in it's group. I have to admit that I didn't care for it. I felt that the character development was very thin, I didn't get to know enough about any of the passengers to understand or even care about them. And, the more I learned about the main character the less I liked her. I don't like loose ends, and my brain is still gnawing on this one. Overall, I was disappointed, and glad when it was over :(

I read Last Rituals as one of the group read selections and discussed it in its thread.

I enjoyed parts of it, but felt it had some issues possibly due to the fact that it was translated from Icelandic. Still, I plan on reading more in the series.

I read Last Rituals over the weekend and commented in the thread.

I found it an interesting mystery with some odd twists thrown in -- like the various family dynamics everyone seemed to be dealing with -- both the victim's family and the lawyer's family. I absolutely could not stand the college girls in the story though I think we've all known "mean girls" like that. I found the cleaning ladies an interesting part of the story, immigrants working hard who were afraid to make any trouble.

I might be willing to continue the series. I'd like to see what happens with Thora next.

I was not impressed with this novel. It was supposed to be a suspense novel, but it lacked suspense and character development (especially the sudden sexual attraction between Matthew and Thora-when did THAT happen? Matthew went from a cold fish to someone Thora found attractive.) Just a long, boring series of fact-finding and no action. Some of the historical aspects were interesting, tho. I'm wondering if something of essence was lost in the translation. I almost gave up a few times, but pushed through to the end. At least it was a short read. I won't be continuing with the series. I rarely give a book less than 3 stars, but this one was only 2 stars to me.

Could you update your post Debra to include what book you read please. Also please could you mark spoilers.

I read Last Rituals and discussed in the discussion thread. I thought the book was ok. There were several discrepancies and I almost got the feeling that the author was in a bit over her head for part of it, but she pulled it together pretty well at the end. Overall, I thought the book was ok and rated it 3 stars.

I read The Lifeboat and discussed it in the appropriate thread. I didn't not care for this book at all. It was confusing. It raised lots of questions about the characters and events without resolution. Like many others said in the thread it was a novel with great potential, but poorly executed.

I read the The Age of Daredevils and discussed it in the Wet Theme discussion group. This book looks at those wh date to challenge the Mighty Niagara River and falls. It was an interesting ( while not riviting) look at this history. I gave it 3 stars. By the way, it did lead me to watch some fun footage of these stunts on You Tube.

I read Letters from Skye and discussed it in the Letters from Skye Buddy Read. I enjoyed the book giving it 4 stars but would have upped it to 4 1/2 if that were possible. I've always liked reading actual letters, written pen on paper, so a book written entirely in that format was good for me. It's almost like doing something slightly forbidden, reading someone else's private thoughts, someone's mail. The story was very touching, about two people developing a relationship through their letters, overcoming obstacles including family, war, separations, misunderstandings and long periods of silence. I liked the main characters and wanted their story to have a happy ending; they had been through so much, they deserved it.

I read The Lifeboat and discussed it in appropriate thread.
I wasn't in love with the book, but at the same time I didn't hate it. I'm always glad for a book that makes me think and this one sure did that. I was disappointed in the story and character development. There was quiet a few areas of the book that left me wondering why a subject was brought up and what a specific character had to do with it. While I like thinking for myself and piecing together strands of the story during a book, there were some gapping holes that even a weaver of the highest level would fall through.

I read, reported on, and described the book Kidnapped for the Wet Theme. I enjoyed the book and gave it a 4 rating (3 1/2 rounded up). In all fairness, I am not the target audience for this book, since I am not an adolescent boy.

I read Last Rituals and discussed it in the appropriate thread.

I liked Tryggi and the giggling cleaning crew. I never felt sympathy for (view spoiler)[Harald, or his friends, or Gunnar, or Harald's mother. So it was difficult for me to care about what happens in the story. Would have liked witchlore to have been more fleshed out as part of the plot. More evidence of sexual asphyxiation as a practice among friends, could have been a better red-herring. Thora's and Matthew's investigation had some interest. (hide spoiler)] I never guessed WhoDunnIt. (view spoiler)[But I don't think that I was given any clues in that direction. (hide spoiler)] 3 stars from me.

I read The Italian Tycoon and the Nanny for the wet theme and discussed it. It was a boring read for me and I gave it 2 stars.

I read Last Rituals. As many people said, I think something was lost in the translation. There was good historical fiction, but there was a disconnect in other ways, especially the suddenly blooming relationship of the 2 people investigating the crime. I thought the story was just ok.

Badges (but not stamps) have been posted now. However, I've just realised that the wrong year is on there. Again! So bear with me while I get it sorted!

The badges have now been corrected. You have 2016 loveliness now! Now for the stamps :-)

Hi Sarah, I didn't get my badge.

Kristie wrote: "Hi Sarah, I didn't get my badge."

There is most definitely a badge on your wall (msg 57). :-)

Happy Birthday Sarah (on Sunday?)
Thanks for the badge and stamp - they made me feel special.

Thanks Joan. Yes it's on Sunday. Glad you liked the badges.

Sarah wrote: "Kristie wrote: "Hi Sarah, I didn't get my badge."

There is most definitely a badge on your wall (msg 57). :-)"

I swear I looked twice before posting! lol I think I got confused somehow... Sorry and thank you! It is a most excellent badge!