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I love those books. I read the first one because I was trying to get on "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" and figured I needed a working knowledge of HP. Once I started I couldn't stop. I feel the same way about the "Twilight" books.
I got busy and still need to finish The Locket I like it so far.
Yesterday I started a group read. Mudbound by Hilary Jordan. I like the style it is written in. Each person has their own chapters and you get to hear their point of view. It is good and I am waiting to see where it goes.
"In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm―a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not―charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion."
And my next buddy read is The Coffin Dancer by Jeffrey Deaver. It's the second book in the series.
Reading, "Believing the Lie", by Elizabeth George. British mystery, over 500 pages; I am a Thomas Lynley, fan and love the characters she comes up with. Sgt Havers is a blast! It is a good read, love her writings. Authors, what power they have!!! lol
I was flipping through my Kindle and found that, um, almost two years ago, I'd stopped reading Empty Mansions (the story of Huguette Clark) at 30%. I'm going to continue it now. Continue reading it, I mean. Not continue letting it sit on my Kindle unread.
I just finished listening to Veronica Roth's "Divergent" -- the first of this YA distopian trilogy. I liked it well enough.
She writes well. Her characters are a bit one dimensional, but still held my interest. Her plot is well executed and it has a nice pace to pull you through the unfolding -- at times I couldn't put it down. Ms Roth obviously has a good eye for our human foibles, and throughout the story she drops gems of wisdom about how good individuals with good intentions still result in a human collective that is marred by our most base motivations (greed, malice, etc).
Still, at this point I don't plan to continue with the trilogy, but who knows -- I might wake up one morning wondering what happens next?
I've waded through roughly 30% of "In Paradise" by Peter Matthiessen and I don't actually think he's God's gifted writer based on this, his final novel. Maybe I should read more of his works before making such a statement. It isn't the usual story about the atrocities against the Nazis' enemies -- not JUST Jews, but I don't really like the way he's handling the protagonist from the start. Normally I get perturbed with an author giving too much at the start of a story, but Matthiessen has gone to the opposite extreme -- giving too little. I know so little about the characters' motivations that just reading their actions and exchanges (insufficient to carry the rationale) leave me uncaring.
I don't know how long I will follow through with it, but so far I plan to go back to it.
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzcat22
Ditto! I couldn't put my finger on why I only got through about 50 pages. Too many characters, all of whom seemed flat to me. It's not that the writing was bad. It just seemed dull. I admit I didn't even get to the part with the first plane wreck---don't know if that would have brought some life into the book (which would have been ironic since it would be death bringing life!).
Thanks so much for posting this. I was afraid that maybe I lost my inner young adult since I didn't like a book by THE YA writer of all time. And critics loved it. But I do think the book just wasn't all that...
THis.
I did finish the book, but I actually DISLIKED it. Too many characters....none of whom I liked...and all the plane crashes....geez. It seemed to me to be a formula-driven concept. I am surprised it got any good reviews. But, maybe it is just me. I have been reading so many really good books lately...this, to me, was not one of them.
I was flipping through my Kindle and found that, um, almost two years ago, I'd stopped reading Empty Mansions (the story of Huguette Clark) at 30%. I'm going to continue it now. Continue reading it, I mean. Not continue letting it sit on my Kindle unread.
Dawn you crack me up!
I finished Younger. MEH, I gave it three stars but it was nothing special. The author did a credible job of keeping you guessing.
I just finished Lets's Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell. What a gem it was. A book that read almost like poetry. There are books that just stay with you for a long time and this is one of them. I found myself copying passages from it into my thought book because she expressed feelings that I've had so beautifully. It is a true story and I hope some of you will decide to read it.
I'm not sure what I will be reading next. I'll decide later on this evening.
The good news is my back is feeling so much better and I have adopted two sweet kitty brothers from the SPCA. They are so comical and have fit right in with our two pupsters, DH, and me.
I finished City of Thieves thanks to all of your recommendations. It really was "all that". Just when you think you've heard it all, you come across something like this. It really was so well written and kept me turning page after page.
I just started The Girls, and am really liking it. I don't know who happened on it here on the forum, because it was written about 10 years ago and I don't think I ever heard of it. Such a good book already ( I am only at page 40 ish or so but it's very gripping).
I so appreciate the suggestions here.
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