| Author |
Message |
Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 7:43 am 
That's my fave type of reading too: An engrossing series by a skilled author.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 9:18 am
I just finished reading a really good book that I just read is going to be a tv series this year. It's called The Returned by Jason Mott. The tv show is titled Resurrection. But it's about what happens when people who have died, are resurrected and come back home. They come back at the age they were when they die. The main characters are in their 70s and their 6-year-old son comes back. The world doesn't know what to do with all of the returned and it really gets crazy. Good read. I think it comes out the end of next month.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, August 26, 2013 - 12:06 pm
I'm reading Cold Vengeance which is the follow-up to Fever Dream. The Preston & Child writing team keep the action moving in both and have an interesting main character (Pendergast). I'm just not feeling it the way I do with other writers -- I doubt I'll read any of their other stuff.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Monday, August 26, 2013 - 2:24 pm
Their earlier books in that series were much better.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, August 26, 2013 - 2:39 pm
Thanks Jimmer. I'm not ruling it out that I'll check out the earlier Pendergast novels - I'm really on the fence. But the brief research I've done supports your assertion that the earlier stuff is better than the more recent works. I finished Cold Vengeance during my lunch hour today and was surprised to discover that there's a third book in this particular storyline. I guess I'll have to get it to see how everything turns out!
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Cablejockey
Member
12-27-2001
| Tuesday, August 27, 2013 - 7:39 am
Just finished another Linwood Barclay book--Bad Move. Very funny view of murder in the suburbs for a guy who moved there from the city to be safer!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1227735.Bad_Move
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, August 27, 2013 - 10:38 am
Taking a break from the thriller genre and delving back into the psycho-sexual warfare milieu of Solar by Ian McEwan. I read his latest (Sweet Tooth) last month and realized I had missed Solar. I love his stuff because the protagonists are usually ripping each other apart psychologically. 
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Abby7
Member
07-17-2002
| Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - 5:11 am
Skye and the Lost Relic
by Correne Walmsley
dh's sister.
(reading it again)
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Abby7
Member
07-17-2002
| Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - 5:52 am
i want to add this:
Correne tells us, “Events that I’ve written about are based on Maori histories from various tribes. Most Europeans regard them as myths because they can’t be scientifically explained. I believe they did happen and that the power of the mind can influence what we experience. That’s why I won’t use real place names: I don’t want anything recounted here attributed to any particular iwi.” She adds, “I’m into conservation and the environment in a big way, and I love all the arts. I also know we hear too much about the bad kids, and not enough about those who are working hard to be good at something or who want to help others. That’s why I wanted to write about them.”
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Saturday, August 31, 2013 - 1:42 pm
Reading Storm Kings: The Untold History of America's First Tornado Chasers by Lee Sandlin. (I guess it's not untold anymore.) So far the story has gone from Increase Mather to Ben Franklin and that's just the prologue & first couple chapters.
Got a very nice copy of The Comics: The Complete Collection by Brian Walker from a used book store for only $8. It's a beautiful oversized book but having just skimmed it, I'm already surprised by one notable omission (though it is at least listed). The book goes from the beginning of the 20th century to the early 2000's, by decade, discussing social & political events of the times & spotlighting notable cartoonists as well as samples of strips, many in full color.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Saturday, August 31, 2013 - 6:40 pm
Finished Solar and was disappointed as it didn't stack up too well next to McEwan's better-known novels. I read just now the first chapter of Devices and Desires by P.D. James and was instantly captivated. I hope the rest of it maintains that same level of deliciousness.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 5:57 pm
I am reading Paula Deen's autobiography. Enjoying it. But something in it sure can possibly explain some of her recent problems. Geeeez. This occurred during early years of her TV cooking show. Early '90s? A friend of hers Sam had shown her and she tasted a hamburger. She loved it. It was created by a chef named Beau. Paula decided she would feature and cook it on her show. The burger had to have a name. She decided to call it the Sambo. I read that and . . . ?! On the next page she said someone had to suggest to her that might not be such a good name for the burger. She had to be told???? Really????
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 7:00 pm
I just finished This Fragile Life by Kate Hewitt. It was a very emotional read about two friends, one who has been trying to have a baby and one who gets pregnant by a one-night-stand. Things take a very sad turn. I needed some tissues by the end.
I am now going another way and reading Breed by Chase Novak. It is again about someone wanting a baby badly but this couple end up becoming animals, of a sort, by some weird doctor and the kids are trying to get out of the house. Creepy.
I am also starting Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas. It's for review and I am just starting so hopefully, I like this one too.
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Scout
Member
01-19-2005
| Saturday, September 07, 2013 - 4:39 pm
I ordered "The Returned" from the library after reading Mamie's recommendation above. Sounds like an interesting read.
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Whrlwnd
Member
10-13-2006
| Sunday, September 08, 2013 - 4:42 pm
I just finished reading Gone Girl last week, and thought it was so good...suspenseful, surprising, unpredictable...everything I look for in a good thriller/mystery. I've been waiting soo long to buy this (budget restrictions), and fortunately it was well worth the wait.
However, I did have one teeny tiny issue w/ it...I didn't like the ending, or maybe I should say that I didn't like that I wasn't sure how the story was going to end.(?!) Wondered if any of you who also read it felt that way too? Or were you able to read between the lines and know how it was going to go 'after the ending'?
Anyway, that definitely wasn't a deal-breaker though, as this story was less about the end and more about the ride getting there for me, which I thought was A+!
Now I'm beginning Hurting Distance by Sophie Hannah, another thriller/mystery.
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Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Sunday, September 08, 2013 - 5:29 pm
Whrlwnd, a friend of mine hated the book because of the ending. It ruined the whole book for her. Like you, I loved the crazy, twisting ride and how much the author could make me feel about the characters. The ending was very unsatisfying to me. I think we are just left to imagine what would have happened later.
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Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Sunday, September 08, 2013 - 5:49 pm
I just finished The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Cafe, the first novel by Mary Simses. It was a cute story but nothing I would rave about. The picture of blueberries and preserves on the cover is luscious!
Today I started The Young and the Ruthless: Back in the Bubbles by Victoria Rowell. I really enjoyed her memoir. This is a novel. I didn't realize it was the second in a series. I got through a few chapters but just couldn't get interested. It may be too farcical for me, so I put it away and will return it to the library tomorrow.
Next up will be Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop by Lee Goldberg. I miss Monk on tv.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Sunday, September 08, 2013 - 6:37 pm
I actually liked the ending to Gone Girl. It leaves a lot to the imagination.
I just finished a really good story, The Book of Someday by Dianne Dixon. It's the story of three women and a secret that binds them all together. Very good.
I am reading The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black. I thought since True Blood is over, I needed some vamps.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, September 08, 2013 - 6:37 pm
At first I wasn't sure I liked the ending of Gone Girl, but then - I could NOT come up with a "satisfying" ending other than the one she wrote given the crazy circumstances throughout the rest of the book!
Just realized today that I'd gotten distracted with the library's reading challenge, so I completely forgot to finish The Angel's Game. Picked it up again, and I'm hoping to finish it off this week as my "fun" reading when I need a break from papers.
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Scout
Member
01-19-2005
| Thursday, September 19, 2013 - 5:24 pm
Just re-read Stephen King's "The Shining" to get ready for his new book out on the 24th - "Doctor Sleep".
I kept seeing The Shining in the front part of the bookstore and also in the new section at Wal Mart and was wondering why and then saw that this new book takes the character of Danny Torrance - the little boy with the Shining - and picks up his story 36 years later.
Also read one of his early books as Richard Bachmann called "The Long Walk" that I don't remember seeing in paperback before. It was a bit like the Hunger Games in that only the winner survives. It would have probably been a better short story.
I also just picked up his book "Joyland" which is called a "hard case crime" book and supposed to be really different for him. I hadn't even heard of it but apparently it only came out in paperback and wasn't available for e-books.
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Cablejockey
Member
12-27-2001
| Friday, September 20, 2013 - 8:48 am
I am looking forward to reading Dr. Sleep. I did read Joyland this past summer and found it a good read.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, September 22, 2013 - 2:14 pm
I finished Devices and Desires and even though it started out well, it went on way too long and at 432 pages, it was at least 200 pages too long. When that happens you end up being more annoyed than anything else.
Then a copy of The Wonder Bread Summer by Jessica Anya Blau became available at the library and I wolfed it down. It was a fun ride from start to finish and the recommendation (by that woman on NPR who periodically announces her current pet picks) turned out to be spot on.
Next came Gillian Flynn. I read her first (Sharp Objects) back in May and thought it was okay and very good for a debut novel. Then earlier this month, I read her second (Dark Places) and her third, the big best-seller Gone Girl, back to back. Dark Places was a tiny bit too much on the far-fetched side, but well written. Gone Girl -- as others have opined already -- was a rollicking ride and Flynn's best work, by far. The Amy character reminded me of a vanilla version of Chelsea Cain's Gretchen Lowell psycho maniac. The only thing I can think of why Flynn ended it the way she did was to leave the door open for a sequel somewhere down the line - maybe the baby grows up to be Amy (Jr.) Axe-killer or something. And because the studio I work for is releasing the film version of Gone Girl, I hope -- for obvious reasons -- that it's a blockbuster at the box office!
This afternoon I began Death Comes to Pemberley, the latest by P.D. James.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Monday, September 23, 2013 - 4:08 pm
I've been visiting an old favorite author...Willa Cather. I am reading My Antonia and my DH is reading O Pioneer. She paints delightful pictures with words without being boring about it.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, September 23, 2013 - 6:03 pm
Uncle ricky, I haven't read Chelsea Cain's books. Are they good? I loved Sharp Objects and though I liked Dark Places, didn't love it, I did love Gone Girl.
My daughter was visiting this past week so I didn't get a lot of reading done. I am reading Mother, Mother by Zoran Kailckas.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, September 23, 2013 - 7:59 pm
Her books are fun, Mamie, but they're fairly creepy, too. The ongoing relationship between Gretchen and Archie (her police detective adversary) is consistenly fascinating. The 6th book in the series was released last month (I'm in line for it at the library).
The first book (Heartsick) is definitely worth reading to see if you like it. I'm almost certain you will. Similar to "Dexter" the books are being adapted into a cable TV series. I can't remember the network but it's something like AMC or FX, not one of the premium channels like HBO or Showtime.
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