The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
>
<closed thread>What are you currently reading?
Finished:
- 4*Reading:
Tampa Burn - Own
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle
The May Queen Murders - Library
Starting:
City of Fallen Angels
: This Time Together – Carol Burnett – 4****
Subtitle: Laughter and Reflection. In this memoir Carol Burnett chronicles her show business career, from her early roles in New York, to headlining her incredibly popular variety show and beyond. I love Carol Burnett. She is truly an American Treasure. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that had me both howling out loud in uncontrollable laughter (my husband came from the other side of the house to see what was going on), and crying to the point where I had to put it aside for a moment because I literally could not see the words on the page for my tears. That speaks, I think, to the genuine person Burnett is, and to her generosity of spirit to lay it all wout there.
My full review HERE
Caddie Woodlawn’s Family – Carol Ryrie Brink – 3.5***
This sequel to the popular Caddie Woodlawn book was originally titled “Magical Melons.” Set in the late 1800s, in Western Wisconsin, the books chronicle life in the Woodlawn family, primarily from the perspective of Caddie, who is almost 13 in this episode. She and her five siblings have great fun in and around their farm and the land surrounding it. Like the “Little House on the Prairie” series, these books provide a reasonable look at life in those pioneer days, though stories involving the native Indian population make me cringe.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- Library - 4*Reading:
Tampa Burn - Own
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle
City of Fallen Angels
Starting:
Butcher's Crossing
An Irish Country Village – Patrick Taylor – 4****
Book two in the popular Irish Country Doctor series, relating the trials and tribulations of young Dr. Barry Laverty as he begins his practice as a country GP in the mid-1960s in Ballybucklebo, a fictitious community in Northern Ireland full of eccentric and memorable residents. Taylor has a gift for making his character so alive they fairly jump off the page. I also love the descriptions he gives of the landscape; makes me feels that I’ve actually been to Northern Ireland. Will definitely keep reading this series.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 4*Reading:
Tampa Burn - Own
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle
Butcher's Crossing
A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder - Library
Old Bones - ebook
Butcher's Crossing - Library
Starting:
Gorky Park - Library
A Stab In the Dark – Lawrence Block – 3***
Matthew Scudder series, number four. Block writes a tight, fast-moving, noir police procedural. Scudder is something of a mystery himself. Oh, we know why he left the force and we’re privy to his demons, but he plays his cards close to the vest. Watching him ferret out the truth is engaging and fascinating.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 3.5*,
- 4*I must admit that I was prepared to find Butcher's Crossing a mediocre western story, especially since the whole of the story was revealed in the preface. But, the writing was excellent enough that I lived this story. Not quite a 4* rating in that it was a put-down-able story...one I could walk away from, but I did enjoy it more than expected.
Finished:
- 4* (Book 1: A Crafty Crime)Liked book 1 enough to be looking forward to book 2.
Reading:
Tampa Burn - Own
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle
Old Bones - ebook
Gorky Park - Library
Starting:
Cost - Library
The Gate Keeper - Kindle
The Bookshop Of the Broken Hearted – Robert Hillman – 3.5***
In 1968 in rural Australia, Tom Hope runs his farm, milks his cows, tends his sheep and tries to find a new purpose in his life after his wife, Trudy, left him and took her son, Peter, with her. Then he meets Hannah Babel, a survivor of Auschwitz and some 15 years his senior, who hires him to build bookcases for her new bookshop. I really liked how Hillman drew these broken-hearted people, how he revealed their pain and their efforts to heal and move forward. Yet, I wasn’t sure I understood Hannah all that well.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Reading:
Tampa Burn - Own
Cost - Library
On Back Burner (for now):
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle [Book 2 next]
Starting:
Horrorstör - audiobook
Finished:
- 4*Reading:
Horrorstör - audiobook
Cost - Library
On Back Burner (for now):
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle [Book 2 next]
Starting:
Grave Visions - Library
All Eyes on Me - Kindle
I Don't Want to Kill You.by Dan Wells
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Reading:
All Eyes on Me - Kindle
On Back Burner (for now):
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle [Book 2 next]
Starting:
Odd Thomas - Library
The Painted Veil - Library
City of Lost Souls - Library
Finding Dorothy – Elizabeth Letts – 3.5***
Letts mines history to go “behind the scenes” on the making of the 1938 movie that launched Judy Garland’s star - The Wizard of Oz - and, more importantly, the story of how L Frank Baum came to write the series that captured the imaginations of millions of readers. I was engaged and interested from the beginning and felt that I learned much about both the making of the movie and about the people Maud and Frank Baum were.
My full review HERE
Bea wrote: "Finished: - 4*, - 4*, - 4*, - 4*Reading:
[book:All Eyes on Me|4465074..."
How deid you like Killer Pancake? I like that series.
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "How deid you like Killer Pancake? I like that series. "It was a fun read, Jayme. I dip into and out of that series as needed. Easy to do, as she explains the back story well.
Finished:
- 4*Reading:
All Eyes on Me - Kindle
Odd Thomas - Library
The Gravedigger's Daughter: A Novel - ebook
City of Lost Souls - Library
On Back Burner (for now):
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle [Book 2 next]
Starting:
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Library
Bea wrote: "Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "How deid you like Killer Pancake? I like that series. "It was a fun read, Jayme. I dip into and out of that series as needed. Easy to do, as she explains the back ..."
I need to get back to that series.
Just finishing up In Farleigh Field and The Paris Wife, both of them decent reads.Starting The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 and Lord of Emperors
Joanne wrote: "Just finishing up In Farleigh Field and The Paris Wife, both of them decent reads."I enjoyed both of those books also, Joanne.
Finished:
- 4*,
- 3*,
- 4*Reading:
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle [Book 2 next]
The Gravedigger's Daughter: A Novel - ebook
City of Lost Souls - Library
Starting:
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Library
The Pardon - Library
If You Can't Stand the Heat - Library
The Cambridge Curry Club - Kindle
The Accidental Tourist – Anne Tyler – 3.5***
Tyler excels at writing character-driven works that give us a glimpse of their lives in all their messy complexity and banal ordinariness. I love the scenes she creates that reveal so much of family dynamics; the Thanksgiving dinner is priceless, as is Rose’s wedding, and Christmas at Muriel’s mother’s house.
My full review HERE
Finished Book #2:
- 3.5* [Book 3 next]Reading:
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle [Book 3 next]
The Gravedigger's Daughter: A Novel - ebook
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Library
The Pardon - Library
If You Can't Stand the Heat - Library
The Cambridge Curry Club - Kindle
All Quiet On the Western Front – Erich Marie Remarque – 4****
Many have called this the “greatest war novel of all time.” I’m not certain I agree with that superlative, but it IS a powerful, emotional, gripping, disturbing, enthralling, and honest exploration of war and its effects on the young who become the pawns of their leaders.
My full review HERE
The White Umbrella – Brian Sewell – 3***
When British filmmaker, Mr B, spots a young donkey being abused in Peshawar, Pakistan, he leaps out of his Land Rover to rescue the animal. Told he cannot take the donkey on the plane home to England he vows to walk, and so he sets off. This is a charming fable of one man’s devotion, determination, and good luck. It was an engaging, gentle read, with a totally satisfying ending. A perfect escape from the hectic and stressful present day situation.
My full review HERE
I just finished
by Peter Wohlleben. I t was wonderful. I wish I could give everyone in the world a copy to read. :) It's well written, fascinating to read, and will change the way you look at the trees around you forever. I'm also bouncing around rereading the series that starts with
by Donna Andrews. I like the combo of comedy and mystery,
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Reading:
A Stoneybrook Mystery Collection: A Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1-3 - Kindle [Book 3 next]
The Gravedigger's Daughter: A Novel - ebook
The Cambridge Curry Club - Kindle
Killer.App - Library
X - Library
Lord Peter: A Collection of All the Lord Peter Wimsey Stories - Own
Little Big Man – Thomas Berger – 3.5***
Berger’s novel purports to be a memoir/autobiography of Jack Crabb – frontiersman, Indian scout, gunfighter, buffalo hunter, adopted Cheyenne. I was completely entertained by this novel of the American West. Berger gives the reader quite the raconteur in Crabb, with a gift for story-telling and colorful language. By the narrator’s own account, he certainly has a gift for landing on his feet, managing to get out of more than one potentially deadly scrape by his wits or sheer dumb luck. If the scenarios stretch credulity, well that is part of the fun.
My full review HERE
In Island Christmas – Nancy Thayer – 3***
‘Tis the season for improbable holiday romances with ice skating, decorating a Christmas tree, hot cocoa, snow, at least one person who is “not into Christmas and/or kids,” and one or more missteps on the road to that happy-ever-after ending. If it isn’t already a Hallmark Christmas movie, it would make a good one. Fun, fast, holiday read.
My full review HERE
--------- * * * * * * * * --------
Where We Come From – Oscar Cásares – 4****
The setting is Brownsville, Texas, a border town with a mean reputation as a haven for human traffickers and drug runners. But it’s also a community of hard-working, middle-class people who want nothing but a safe home for their children, decent schools, good roads, a thriving business district and reliable city services. Cásares focuses on one such family. I really enjoyed this exploration of a complex issue. There are multiple layers to the novel and much fodder for a stimulating book club discussion.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 4*,
Book #3 - 3.5*,
- 4*Reading:
The Cambridge Curry Club - Kindle
Graced: The Graced Series - Kindle
Starting:
The Mystery at Belle Magnolia - Kindle
Christmas On the Island – Jenny Colgan – 3***
A charming, story set against a holiday season that raises expectations and sometimes sees our dreams come true. There’s quite a lot going on in this book, #3 in the Mure series. I think I might have had an easier time of it had I read the first two books before tackling this one, as Colgan generally builds relationships over the course her series.
My full review HERE
--------- * * * * * * * * --------
The Old Gringo – Carlos Fuentes – 1*
The novel is framed as the reminiscence of a woman. An old journalist heads to Mexico during the time of the Mexican Revolution seeking, not a story, but his death. There has been much praise for this work; it was the first translated work by a Mexican author to become a bestseller in the United States. But I had great difficulty engaging with the characters and the plot, such as it was. Our book club struggled to find anything positive to say about this work.
My full review HERE
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Opposite of Everyone (other topics)Small Wonder (other topics)
I, Alex Cross (other topics)
Fox & I (other topics)
On Gold Mountain: The 100-Year Odyssey of a Chinese-American Family (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Gill Paul (other topics)Elizabeth Peters (other topics)
Rainbow Rowell (other topics)
Liam Moiser (other topics)
Barbara Mertz (other topics)
More...
The Winter of Frankie Machine – Don Winslow – 4****
Wow, what a ride! The action is fast and furious, and deadly. Retired Mob hit-man Frank Machianno (a/k/a/ Frankie Machine) is really on his own, with no one to trust. And the reader is pretty much on her own as well. There are more potential suspects than Carter has pills. The action is non-stop and there are surprises right up to the ending. This is the first book by Winslow that I’ve read. It won’t be the last.
My full review HERE