| Author |
Message |
Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Thursday, August 28, 2014 - 5:31 pm 
Uncle_Ricky, I did enjoy The Interestings very much.
Now I'm reading The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout. It's really good and has lots of sub-stories.
|
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, August 29, 2014 - 10:14 am
Hooray! I'd not been familiar with Wolitzer's work, but The Interestings made me an instant fan - I intend to go back and read her earlier stuff.
I'm having a heck of a time with Huston's Sleepless - the way he's structured it is very confusing, but the story itself is gripping: the world is in a state of chaos thanks a condition that makes it impossible for people to go to sleep, thus leading to widespread casualties.
|
Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, September 02, 2014 - 8:42 am
I started The Secret Place by Tana French yesterday. I am already getting pulled into another Dublin murder mystery. Love her books.
I am also reading This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper. My daughter read it and passed it along to me and the movie trailer looks like a good one.
|
Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Tuesday, September 02, 2014 - 11:07 am
Finished Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. It was very, very good!
|
Jasper
Moderator
09-14-2000
| Tuesday, September 02, 2014 - 12:12 pm
Well I finished Written in My Own Heart's Blood. Hmm, parts of me are dissatisfied. There was too much of the Grey family in it. I'll read the Lord John books if I want them. Just not enough of Jamie and Claire it seemed. imo. I also would have liked more Bri and Roger. I just feel a little let down. After the last book I closed it wanting more. When I closed this one I didn't have the feeling of anticipation for the next one. I do want to see where it goes but don't mind the wait. At least I can watch Outlander!
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, September 02, 2014 - 5:53 pm
Uncle Ricky, always nice when you find an author you like AND they have more books you can explore.
I finished Household Saints which I did like, kind of sad, though.
And then read The Truth About Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler and starting Reluctant Hero:A 9/11 Survivor Speaks Out About That Fearful Day, How He's Struggled, and What No One Should Ever Forget and yes all those words are capitalized in the title.. by Michael Benfante and Dave Hollander.
|
Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Tuesday, September 02, 2014 - 6:51 pm
I liked Patron Saint of Lost Dogs but it was short and too neatly, quickly wrapped up at the end. There is a sequel now. I probably will read it sometime.
Just finished China Dolls by Lisa See. It was highly recommended by someone in my book club but didn't grab me like it did her. I found the story topics interesting but felt the character development was lacking and there was too much repetition. I was happy to reach the end. Some reviewers at amazon.com feel See's other books are far better than this.
Uncle_Ricky, I plan to read more by Wolitzer, too.
I just started The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March.
|
Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, September 02, 2014 - 7:13 pm
Mak, I read the Meryl Streep book. It was a sweet little read.
|
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Wednesday, September 03, 2014 - 10:51 am
I love that 9/11 title, Sea - makes me want to track it down for myself.
I try to give all books I read a fair chance, but the Charlie Huston I finished last night (Sleepless) was a huge disappointment. I was sorely tempted to stop reading before I reached page 100, but because I'd enjoyed his other stuff so much, I stuck with it to the 352nd (and final) page. It was a painful experience as I ultimately regretted not stopping when I had the chance. Oh, well -- these things happen.
I'm now reading Robert Plant: A Life, which is a biography of Led Zeppelin's lead singer by rock journalist, Paul Rees.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, September 08, 2014 - 12:14 pm
Finished the book starting on 9/11,, well tell of life prior to the day. He was on the 81st floor, the sales manager of a telecom company, and he managed to make sure everyone present started down the stairs. He and a recent hire had made rounds to check on people and then started down. They were the ones who encountered a woman with two co-workers. She had rheumatoid arthritis since age 3 and used a motorized chair. They were waiting for help. He asked if she needed help, she said yes. He had to convince her that they would try to return for her pricey electric chair (which at the time seemed possible) and they had some sort of lighter chair for her and they carried her all the way down and out (with some help at various points. When the stairs were at a standstill toward the bottom, they went off and found another way out.
They had just delivered her to an ambulance but decided not to join her and were disoriented and not agreeing on which way to go, a reporter started filming, even, when the first tower went down and they ran. He came close to suffocating but didn't.
He was quite celebrated and tells of the days, weeks, months and years after.. as he started questioning if people had learned anything about teamwork and helping others.. company went bankrupt, next jobs dried up. Took, him a long time.. he had become engaged and they were planning a wedding for a year after 9/11 but he stopped participating in planning, in their marriage, even when they had a child.
He's turned it around but doesn't go much into details of that.
He certainly has some good points and shares about being used by various shows, and so on.
I thought it gave a view we don't often see/hear.
Now starting The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown which promises to be a very good read.
I actually had several books lined up to read but on Friday my Kindle Fire took a sideways dive off a counter and managed to land on a side, even with a cover it was on a hard floor and it actually cracked the gorilla glass from side to side (if you hold in portrait mode, which I rarely do, so to me it is top to bottom) and it lost its mind. The voice to help a blind person use the device started talking but any navigation was limited and unpredictable. Alas, I will have to seek out the books again from the cloud.
So.. my biggest angst involved all the pictures I've taken with the camera.. I had assumed they went to the cloud but not. So I first called about the broken device since thankfuly I'd popped for the 2 year extended warranty with breakage included.. that part was easy.. I could even break it twice more and get replacement.. of course this is the first time I've had to do a replacement in at least 8 devices with Amazon..
They guy said it would arrive Tuesday. I have a patient to drive Tuesday and commented that Monday I could actually be home, since they just toss the box and run.. and he actually arranged for Monday delivery!!
It has arrived but was TOTALLY uncharged.. this is a first.. so I put it on charger and after some time where it still just showed no charge it is up to 7% and showing a s screen. Need to get it set up. I used my Kindle Fire HD over the weekend and wow is it heavy compared to the HDX. And I've been spoiled having front AND rear facing cameras too.
But this book I'm starting is worthy of my next to read list too.
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Monday, September 08, 2014 - 11:47 pm
Psst Luvmom Kim Harrison's 13th and final book in the Hollows series, The Witch with No Name, just popped up on my kindle. I'm off to read before I head over to Goodreads and spoil myself, lol!
|
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, September 09, 2014 - 3:00 pm
The bio about Robert Plant was enjoyable, though a bit bland. I'm now reading My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead. Ms. Mead explains how deeply George Eliot's Middlemarch affected her life and her own career as a staff writer for the New Yorker. Middlemarch is one of my all-time favorites, so it's been interesting reading Mead's dissection of the book.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, September 09, 2014 - 3:24 pm
Sounds like the perfect book for you, Uncle Ricky.. of course there are many that fit that description with your wide-ranging tastes..
|
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, September 09, 2014 - 4:22 pm
So far, so good, yes Sea. And I've gotten in line at the library to get a copy of Mr. Benfante's book. It should arrive in the next week or two. 
|
Luvmom
Member
10-17-2000
| Thursday, September 11, 2014 - 5:45 am
Wargod I dont have a kindle but have the hard copy in my hand right now So excited!!
|
Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Thursday, September 11, 2014 - 8:59 am
Meryl Streep Movie Club was a sweet little read, Mamie. I like that description.
Now I'm reading Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings and Anita Shreve's Resistance. I pick up whichever strikes my fancy at the time. They both are good.
Sea, thanks for the report on the 9/11 book. It sounds very interesting. Glad your Kindle replacement worked out easily for you!
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, September 12, 2014 - 12:34 am
I won't say a word, other than...Jenks has a new curse in there somewhere, lol.
|
Luvmom
Member
10-17-2000
| Saturday, September 13, 2014 - 6:32 pm
lol I'm reading it slowly since it's the very last one. I have my DD using Jenkenisms now lol
|
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, September 15, 2014 - 9:13 am
Finished My Life in Middlemarch and loved it. It helps a LOT if you've already read Middlemarch. You'll otherwise feel completely lost. Mead did a fabulous job of researching everything connected with the book, but it was her personal reflections that made her memoir (of sorts) worth reading.
Last night I dove into Carsick by John Waters (who directed my all-time favorite comedy "Female Trouble") - it chronicles his (voluntary) quest to hitchhike across the USA (and at age 66, no less)!
|
Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - 5:24 pm
I finished Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer. It's actually the second book in a series. It was okay, but don't think I'm interested in reading any of the others. I had heard it was reminiscent of the Harry Potter books. Not at all.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, September 20, 2014 - 11:25 pm
I finished The Boys in the Boat which was wonderful! I learned so much about racing and the depression in Seattle and the 36 Olympics and kind of a parallel to the Olympics in Sochi where things were hidden or cleaned up, where the games were used as PR for a regime (and yes, all Olympic venues do some cleaning up, I know that).
Anyway it was fascinating and they update on the whole team of guys for the rest of their lives.
Now I'm reading Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein, who wrote The Art of Racing in the Rain.
|
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, September 21, 2014 - 9:37 pm
Hated to see Carsick end because it was such a riot. It's amazing that Waters even attempted to hitchhike across the country. That he succeeded was a minor miracle. Not everyone "gets" his humor, but for those who do, it's a treat indeed.
Speaking of humor that's not always embraced, I found a copy of Diary of a Mad Diva by the late Joan Rivers at the library yesterday. I'll finish it later tonight. Though it has its funny moments, I found a lot of it unremarkable and she repeats several of the gags a few too many times. One either loves or hates her stuff. She went out on top, though (well, at the moment the book is #5 on the New York Times best-seller list). If you decide to read it, be forewarned that absolutely NOTHING is off-limits when it comes to the people and topics she attacks - NOTHING!
|
Riviere
Member
09-09-2000
| Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - 11:15 am
Finally read a "bad" novel by Sue Grafton! This one is "W For Wasted" which described it! Perhaps I will not be able to finish her alphabet series after all...
|
Kep421
Member
08-10-2001
| Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - 1:49 pm
I've recently finished Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. Loved it... so beautiful and heartbreaking...plus I learned so much about making persian carpets!!
Before that I read Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline. This book literally caused me to cry... being raised in the state child welfare system during the 50s\60s, this book truly hit home with me. I never knew about this important part of American History before reading this book. I HIGHLY recommend it.
Before that, I read Until We Reach Home by Lynn Austin. Wonderful book about swedish immigration to the US. This is one I will read again... the love story was GREAT!! (and I'm not usually into love stories).
AND before that, I read Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon. Being a Stephen King fan I had to see what all the fuss was about with this book. Swan Song has been compared to The Stand by nearly every King fan who has read it. Since The Stand by King was my most favorite book by him, I just had to check it out. LOVED IT...it is more gritty and gory detailed than the Stand, but every element was there... plus a few that weren't. While I see the comparisons between Swan Song and the Stand, I do believe Swan Song is the better story....The Stand is still the better written story in my book...I love King's prose... but I loved McCammon's rich detail of Swan Song so much more.
Jes thought I'd share!! 
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - 6:48 pm
Raven Stole the Moon was good.. it was okay.
Now starting another novel, Sparrow Migrations by Cari Noga.. takes place when/where Sully Sullenberger landed the plane on the water after it was stopped by the flock of birds.. and involves.. well so far a woman in the middle of an affair who was supposed to be elsewhere, not on a ferry (and then on tv) and an autistic boy and.. haven't made it that far..
|
