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

Margo wrote: "I'm starting my reread of The Rosie Project for my book club."

I love that book. Hope you like it too, Margo. I think I listened to it though. The audio was so good!

I am one of many fans of pre-teen sleuth and poisons expert Flavia de Luce, whose chemistry skills are legendary. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag is the second in the series by Alan Bradley, and his depiction of 1950s rural England is a treat. Love it!
4.5~5★ My review of . . . the Hangman's Bag

I’m reading a book called Shake Down by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

I finished Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight and it was as boring as I feared it would be.

Next on my list is Verity. Back to the Road Trip.

I finished The Book of Cold Cases, which is pretty much what you'd expect from Simone St. James. It was good, but it wasn't my favorite of her work.

I am still reading Norse Mythology, which is just ok for me, and I also started The Homewreckers. I'm at 37% and I'm finding this one just ok too. Maybe it's me...

I've finished A wonderful read about 'hikikomori' in Japan and what effort it takes to take a step in the world. Also, the book has a lot of interesting insights and beautiful quotes.

I finished reading From These Broken Streets for my Road Trip. I didn't know about the Four Days of Naples in 1943 when the citizens rose up against the Nazis prior to the Allied forces' arrival. It was okay.

I'm moving on to Tonight You’re Dead, #4 in the Sandhamn series that I've been neglecting. I can also use it for Site 10 in the Road Trip.

I also have A Train to Moscow on my kindle beckoning me so I'll probably be switching back and forth.

I enjoy the Amazon Original Stories, which are quick reads written by well-known authors and give readers a sample of their talent and style. Jeffery Deaver recently contributed Scheme, which has an unexpected (of course) twist at the end.
3★ My review of Scheme

We know him by his stage name Harry Houdini, which means MAGIC! This is another colourful introduction by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara to a little person who realised their Big Dreams. Excellent!
5★ My review of Houdini with several illustrations

I finished Children of Earth and Sky on iBooks. It was a chunkster and took forever to read.

I will start our group themed read of Dragonflight later today.

I'm rereading Of Mice and Men for my book club, and crying again.

I am starting Dragonflight and The Dutch Wife.

I’m reading a book called The Silent Daughter by Claire Amarti

I finished Verity on audiobook today. I'm not sure what I'll start tomorrow. That's 2 books in a row about sociopaths and I'm going to have get something a little more normal for my next read.

I just finished The Ladies of the Secret Circus for the yearly challenge.

I started Dragonflight for the group read yesterday.
Hope to start The Great Hunt for the buddy read in the next couple days.

I'm also reading Here for It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America: Essays on audiobook. It is a memoir told through essays. I'm trying to read different types of books and usually struggle with essay collections/short stories. Audio helps, but I am still struggling a bit. I'll probably finish today or tomorrow.

Amanda (Mandy) wrote: "I just finished The Ladies of the Secret Circus for the yearly challenge.

I started Dragonflight for the group read yesterday.
Hope to start [book:The Great Hunt|23364..."

Good for you in trying out genres that aren't your usual. I too struggle with anthologies. I have some that I'm delaying to read.

Yesterday I've finished the Dutch translation of The Child Finder It took me only 2 days to read the whole book, because it was so gripping.

I’m reading a book called What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline

I finished Ghost Gifts on audiobook today and will likely start Crescendo: The Story of a Musical Genius Who Forever Changed a Southern Town tomorrow.

I loved Douglas Stuart's latest book, Young Mungo, about a gentle teen-aged lad who discovers love in the bleakness of Glasgow's East End. The author knows from his own experience that there are roses among the thorns.
5★ My review of Young Mungo

I'm bailing on Dragonflight. I find it difficult to concentrate these days. Instead, I started Edinburgh Twilight for the monthly challenge.

Janice wrote: "I'm bailing on Dragonflight. I find it difficult to concentrate these days."

No reason to force yourself to read something you are not enjoying!

I started Our Oriental Heritage this morning . In my dreams I fall in love with this author and his writing and keep reading all the 11 books in his Story of Civilization series, but that still has to prove to be true. :)

I will also start A High Mortality of Doves tonight just because it has been in my physical shelf for too long.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY which is celebrated on May 12th, Florence Nightingale's birthday. Born 202 years ago, this most remarkable woman changed nursing around the world. The Lady of the Lamp is still a role model, and I hope this children's book will inspire more kids to go into into nursing.
5★ My review of Florence Nightingale with several illustrations

I've started The Haunting of Hill House for the yearly challenge.

Saar The Book owl wrote: "I've started The Haunting of Hill House for the yearly challenge."

That is a good one, Saar. I'd like to reread it now that I know the ending. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

I finished Crescendo: The Story of a Musical Genius Who Forever Changed a Southern Town on audiobook and will start Shadow of the Fox tomorrow for the themed read since I bailed on Dragonflight,

Currently reading The Space Opera Megapack: 20 Modern and Classic Science Fiction Tales and Wolves of the Calla

I’m reading a book called Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

I put The Homewreckers aside for a couple of days. It's a bit slow-going for my taste and was taking a little longer to finish than I expected. I have The Soulmate Equation from the library and it's due back in two days, so I decided to read that first, then go back and finish Homewreckers. I got through 47% just today and so far it's been more fun and a much faster read.

I've also gone back and restarted Sundial for the monthly challenge. I had put it aside for other reads a while ago and decided to restart it instead of picking up where I left off. I'm glad I did because I had forgotten a bit and I'm enjoying it more this time around.

I seem to be putting a lot of books aside lately and reading in bits and spurts. Hopefully, I can get that turned around now.

In Shoot to Thrill by P.J. Tracy, the FBI gives the Monkeewrench crew free rein to hack into anything anywhere to find out who is posting videos of murders in real time. What a challenge!
3.5~4★ My review of Shoot to Thrill

Haven't been around much as I haven't had a chance to read much. So far this year, I've tracked the least number of books read for the first five months of the year compared to the past five years. I've no idea why. So excited to say I finished Easy Beauty today - what a read! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I also started making progress on 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak - read about 100 pages today, woot!

Aboriginal author Evelyn Araluen has just won the 2022 Stella Prize for Dropbear, her new collection of poems, essays, memoir, and thoughts. it's quite a mix, and I hope I've done it justice.
4.5★ My review of Dropbear

https://stella.org.au/prize/2022-prize/

I’m reading a book called Stalking Colton's Family by Geri Krotow

I read Edinburgh Twilight on ebook for the monthly challenge. I found that it dragged on. I will start Cleopatra's Dagger tonight. I was surprised at the random coincidence that they are both by the same author! I chose Cleopatra's Dagger because it was a new release. I hope it doesn't drag as well.

I finished The Homewreckers. I thought it was ok. The romance wasn't really developed at all. We're just supposed to believe it. I also finished The Soulmate Equation, which I thought was better.

I started My Wife is Missing.

I’m reading a book called Stranded in the Mountains by Geri Krotow

I read the sequel to Stillhouse Lake, Killman Creek. It was a pretty intense action/thriller and a great sequel to the first book. All I can say is that people can be really cruel, just for the sake of being cruel.

I need something lighter so I'm going to go back to see what Eve and Rourke are up to in Betrayal in Death.

It's unusual to cheer for a bad guy who steals just because he's good at it, but I did find myself warming to Aussie author Garry Disher's Wyatt. Kickback is one of Disher's earliest books and the first in the Wyatt series.
4★ My review of Kickback with no spoilers

I just enjoyed the first of this entertaining, quirky historical mystery series. Lady Hardcastle is seeking A Quiet Life in the Country, but author T.E. Kinsey ensures her sleuthing talents don't go to waste. Just what I needed - a good cosy!
4★ My review of A Quiet Life in the Country (with quotes, but no spoilers)

I finished The Memory Keeper of Kyiv. It was an okay read. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I started The Man Who Spoke Snakish.

Doctor Ice Pick sounds like some kind of snake-oil salesman from a couple of centuries ago, but this short non-ficton piece by Claire Prentice explains how recently he and his trainees were poking into brains of disturbed patients. ACK!
3★ My review of Doctor Ice Pick

I really enjoyed the characters in The Secret World of Connie Starr, Aussie author Robbi Neal's new novel. It begins during the Depression and goes to 1952 in the small country town of Ballarat, Victoria. It's hard to keep secrets in a small town.
4★ My review of The Secret World of Connie Starr

I’m reading a book called The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

I finished Cleopatra's Dagger on ebook and Betrayal in Death on audiobook yesterday. I'm starting a new slate of books today - One Boy, No Water on ebook and Descendant of the Crane on audiobook. Both of them will fit the road trip challenge.