EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the lack of real posting last week. As I mentioned, I'd had a really busy week at work and then went to Disney and just didn't have time to make a proper post.

Disney was fantastic, and it was a great trip with my mom, lots of memories and photos.

So the last two weeks I read:

Catseye - Second book with the same name for Popsugar. It was ok, felt sort of like it should have been the first book of a series, but as far as I can tell it's a stand alone.

Proven Guilty - The Amanda Palmer book took me so long to listen two I had to listen to this non stop for about 2 days to get it all done. As is I got cut off in the last 15 minutes, but I'd read it before so I just called it good.

The Hole - This one was disappointing for me, I'd really looked forward to it. However I really didn't like any of the characters, and so all the horrifying things were just uncomfortable to read, without any real sympathy towards anyone going through them. This counted for a psychological thriller by a woman for Reading Women, far east author for ATY, a book in translation by or translated by a woman (applies for both) for Read Harder., and a book with a plant on the cover for popsugar.

The Song of Achilles - Loved this so much, although it was very sad. Her writing is so lovely! This was my ATY author with the same first and last initials, ATY something old since it's set during the Trojan war and is based on the Iliad which is also very old.

My Beautiful Enemy - this was my historical romance by an author of color for read harder, and a historical fiction book for Reading Women, as well as a book with a criminal character for ATY (main character was a thief, among other things). It was a nice quick read, lots of action.

The Windup Girl - this is my ATY book about food. I had mixed feelings about it. Overall it was interesting, but I really didn't like the way the author wrote Emiko (the titual wind up girl). It also felt like the perspective jumped around so much it was difficult to keep track of where the plot was actually going. Even the ending felt a bit anti-climatic.

Currently reading:
Bel Canto - this is for my book club meeting Tuesday, not sure it'll actually fill any prompts yet.

QOTW:

Last question from Kathy: Any newer books people have read with their kids that they would recommend for adults?

This doesn't entirely apply to me, since I don't have kids. But I have read most of Rick Riordan's books, which are classed as middle-grade, and I really enjoy them. I actually saw Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, the musical, last week on Wednesday. It was really cute!

Since my last update, I finally finished The Left Hand of Darkness. I liked the second half much more than the first.

I was in the mood for something fluffier after that, so I read a historical romance novella, The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan. I've been enjoying the author's Twitter feed, so I wanted to give one of her books a try. This novella was exactly what I needed at this moment - I love when a book gets you at the right time and place, you know? It wasn't super-complex or deep, but I enjoyed the characters.

I'm not currently reading anything at the moment, since I just finished a book at lunch today. I do have the next book in the romance series by Milan, The Duchess War, queued up for later, though.

QOTW: I don't have kids. I do read some middle grade and young adult books, though. The one I always recommend to everyone, regardless of age, is The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. I absolutely adored this book.

Jen, I keep meaning to read that!

Finally finished up The Gone-Away World. I'm not entirely convinced. I think it was a good story, with some unforeseen twists, but it possibly suffered from the author just trying to cram too many ideas and stories into one book and getting a bit rambling and slightly annoying as a result. I suspect listening to it on audio was part of the problem, as that just made the digressions seem even longer. So, not a bad book, but not as good as it should have been.

Also finished The Bonesetter's Daughter, which got a bit heavy and sad for me in the middle, but overall was a good read and a change of pace.

Currently reading The Enchantment Emporium, which is easy and fun, and listening to The Player of Games, which I've been meaning to read for years now. So far so good. Still going with The Murder on the Links, which is fine, but the main character is a bit irritating.

QOTW: I'm afraid I don't have much contact with children, but I do love children's books and YA. That said, I can't think of anything in particular just now. The Girl of Ink and Stars is a good one from just a few years ago. Does that count as newer?

I am still listening to Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones. But my neighbor is away so I'm getting good listening time this weekend. I think I am pretty close to the end. This is enjoyable and I'll definitely get the next audiobook for this series.

I am still slogging through The Left Hand of Darkness. I cannot say I'm really enjoying it or finding it engaging. I'm on about chapter 14 now. I have it for about 12 more days before it is due and no more renewals. I really do hope to finish it but yeah, not my favorite.

Figuring out what I want to read next. I have a trip to Iceland coming up so I'll take one book on that trip with me and maybe an audiobook, mostly for the plane ride.

QOTW: Well, my 3 kids are all in their 20s so any books I've read with them are not recent. I don't think the three books I got through Book Of the Month club last year and then passed on to my 23 year old daughter count! They were not child nor YA books. They were interesting and we had fun discussing them though.

I've missed a few weeks of checking in - I was also at Disney, and then just not online as much!

When I last checked in, I was reading
This Savage Song, which I enjoyed - nothing earth-shakingly original, but well-written and a good story.

Next, I read Trying to Save Piggy Sneed, which had been sitting on my Kindle for a while since it had been on sale and I enjoy John Irving's writing. It was completely different than I expected - only a few short stories, and mostly essays and commentary on writing. Even though I'm not a writer, it was fascinating, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever been curious about how authors develop their writing styles.

After that came The Bonfire of the Vanities. This was what IRL book club #3 read last summer, and it took me this long to get it from the library! It is interesting reading it now, because the world has changed so much in some ways and so little in others since it was written 30 years ago. I'm sure that when it first came out, many of its themes were much less worn, but now there have been so many other books that address inequality in more interesting ways that I really would only recommend it to people who want a view into the mid-80's.

I then decided to get caught up on all of the other books I missed during my break from IRL book club #3, so I moved on to Her Body and Other Parties. The first story is brilliant - entertaining, thought-provoking, creative...but then things start to get repetitive. Based on the first story, I would be interested in reading a longer piece from the author - she is a good writer and has interesting ideas.

Next in the IRL book club #3 catch up was Double Exposure. This one has great characters and a well drawn setting, and the events are presented realistically - but it needs a conclusion. I'm not sure if the author just really wanted to leave things open for a sequel, but it's one of those where you wonder if your copy is missing a chapter or two at the end.

By far the best of the IRL book club $3 catch up batch was In the Darkroom - I did not go in with high hopes, since grown kids telling their parents' life stories are usually not my jam at all - but this is an amazing story. I knew embarrassingly little about Hungary's role in WWII prior to reading this, and the author's father's story is highly unique - but she presents it in a way that makes the book impossible to put down. If you're interested in history or explorations of gender - or just a really well-written memoir - this is definitely one to check out.

Unfortunately, the March book for IRL book club #3 was not quite as amazing. Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing has been a huge hit here in Columbus, and it should be a really great story - but the book is a hot mess. Full of digressions, "interludes," and easily fixable omissions and inaccuracies, it was quite a disappointment after all the buildup. Oddly, despite the author not being a sports writer, I thought the best written parts were the descriptions of the games, which made it even more of a shame that he didn't apply that same talent to giving us more information about the actual kids on the teams.

Next came March's IRL book club #2 pick, In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox. I'm not quite as much of a Carol Burnett Show fan as some of the other members, so I suspect they will get a bit more out of it than I did (we haven't met yet for the discussion), but there were some fun stories about guest stars and behind the scenes stuff.

For IRL book club #1, we're doing a two book series this month. Book #1, The Edge of Normal was not exactly a relaxing read - grim subject matter, and characters with the decision making skills of the teenagers in that Geico commercial with the horror movie cliches. I'm looking forward to the discussion about this one at the end of the month to hear other takes on it, but it's definitely not one I would have picked on my own.

To take a break from assigned reading, I next read another one that had been sitting on my Kindle since it went on sale - Honor Among Thieves. I really liked this one - great characters, a thought-provoking but action-packed story, and a good setup for the sequel while still resolving some primary conflicts within this book. I believe book #2 is already out and book #3 is coming soon, so those will definitely go on my list.

I'm now making my way through book #2 for IRL book club #1, What Doesn't Kill Her. The decision making skills do not seem to have markedly improved since book #1, but I am halfway through and interested enough to want to know how it will be resolved (I mean, I have a sense of what's going to happen, but it's actually not 100% obvious how they're going to get there).

For the QOTW, I don't have kids, but I enjoy YA and some books for older kids. The quality is so much better now than it was when I was at the intended age, and obviously the characters and authors are much more diverse and reflective of readers. One graphic series for kids that I really enjoy is Phoebe and Her Unicorn - they are fun and cute without being saccharine, and the art is simple without crossing into hipster-land.

Glad everyone had fun at Disney! (my turn isn't until December). On the up side, my librarian conference was an absolute blast!
Taking a break from Wheel of Time, I've knocked off a few shorter books in the past two weeks, and then started book 6 (Lord of Chaos) last night. Since I last checked in:

Master of Formalities ended up being a total hoot! Another from this week by author Scott Meyer was The Authorities™, which was a delightful spin on whudunnit/detective/007-type stories. I tend to really dislike overused and tired tropes, but love and author who can effectively turn them in their heads for a fun story, and Meyer is just amazing at it. In both stories, I found myself hoping for the most cliched ending possible, just to see what twist he would put on the concept. Both are funny, easy reads for when you need something light, but each having a bit of biting societal observation tossed in, too.

Ink, Iron, and Glass I really wanted to love this one, based on my love of the Myst universe. Unfortunately it just didn't happen, I guess because the book wasn't really story about worldbuilding-by-writing, but just used the concept as a background vehicle for a more typical YA adventure/romance. It was well written and conceived, it just wasn't my cup of tea- I can certainly understand the appeal for those who really love it, though.

Suspicious Minds Guys, I got my Stranger Things fix five moths early!!!! This was every bit as good as the series, but set in the late 1960's, filling in the backstory of Terri (Eleven's Mom) and how she got mixed up with The Lab. It's supposed to be the first of a bunch of backstory novels, and I really hope the rest nail the established mood, setting, and characters as well as this one did. As a warning, it is definitely every bit as creepy and disturbing as the series is, particularity as Dr. Brenner's character has a chance to be fleshed out a bit.