| Author |
Message |
Rvon
Member
12-11-2003
| Tuesday, July 12, 2016 - 10:45 am 
This is so crazy! I have I Let You Go listed in my journal as one of the books I read in May. But for the life of me, I do not remember reading this book or one thing about it. If I do not finish a book I usually write DNF (Did Not Finish) beside the title.
I even went to the Amazon web site and read some of the reviews, etc., and nothing jogs my memory. I wonder if it is a book I said I was going to read and wrote it in my journal, but got interested in another book first. It is so crazy!
I know there are many, many books I have read and the only thing I can tell you about the book is if I liked it or did not like it. I don't usually remember many of the details.
I just don't think I read one page of this book. Guess I will have to put it in my journal for my July reading.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, July 12, 2016 - 10:48 am
I finally finished Frank Deford's memoir Over Time: My Life as a Sports Writer.
He has known so many fascinating people.. even went twice to Africa with Arthur Ashe.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, July 12, 2016 - 11:55 pm
Tonight I finished Elizabeth Strout's latest winner, My Name is Lucy Barton. Though not quite as good as Olive Kitteridge, it's very close in quality as that earlier (Pulitzer-Prize winning) work.
It follows a woman's lengthy stay in a New York hospital as she reminisces about her life leading up to the hospitalization, particularly the challenging relationship (or lack thereof) she's had with her mother. The writing is outstanding and while the underlying themes are a bit depressing, the book's overall message is one of hope, i.e., I think it's a reminder to the reader to keep familial relationships strong because you never know when something like a long-term hospitalization might force you to reflect (painfully) on missed opportunities in the past to be close to one's mother/father/brother/sister -- the four biggies!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 11:15 am
Don't be so sure, Reenie. I just started the final 25% last night on Audible, and there is still horrible stuff! This is about his 15-year-old self after running from the counselors......sweet heavens, Uncle Ricky - this book is literally killing me!!!
Question for all - was it this group that recommended The Passage? I got it through Overdrive, but I can't for the life of me remember who said it was good. I've got exactly 14 days to read 700+ pages, so my life is currently musical rehearsals, reading on my Kindle whilst monitoring a 2-month-old puppy, and sleeping! Did I mention I also got the deadtree book What Belongs to You - another U_R rec - and have 2 weeks to read it as well? (Pretty perfect summer - don't be too jealous!)
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 4:04 pm
I love The Passage trilogy!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 7:04 pm
Thanks, Mamie - I'm not usually one for vampire stories, but the first 100 pages have completely intrigued me!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Thursday, July 14, 2016 - 9:39 am
Oh no!, Teach, I hope you (and Reenie) get to the end in one piece! But you're right, the section detailing Jude as a 15-year-old on the run left me extremely nervous.
Rvon, that WAS wild - I trust you'll get to the Mackintosh book somewhere down the line - it's really good and is NOT to be missed.
I anticipate digging into the 766 pages of The Passage myself within the next 48 to 72 hours so that I can experience all the fun, too! 
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Thursday, July 14, 2016 - 10:00 am
I also am not one who normally reads the vampire books but I have put Passage on hold simply because of the comments here.
I'm currently in the middle of Memory Man by Baldacci. I almost dropped it after 90 pages due to what I thought was too much repetition but I am now starting to get into it. It's about a man who suffers a catastrophic hit in his first game as a pro NFL player. The hit causes a change to the wiring in his brain to where he now has perfect memory. The story introduces the character as he is trying to find a murderer. It's a good summer read if you like Baldacci.
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Reenie
Member
06-24-2006
| Thursday, July 14, 2016 - 10:47 am
Well Ricky and Teach - I have completed A Little Life. His 15 year old self had me sick! I actually
cried at the end. Such a touching story. On a happy note, Willem was quite the guy wasn't he? So happy for this recommendation!
I listened to the book on Audible and loved hearing the different voices of each character.
I read that the author wrote the book over an 18 month time period.
Looking for something a bit lighter next.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Thursday, July 14, 2016 - 12:45 pm
I'm so relieved, Reenie -- hooray! It really is one of the most affecting books I've ever read. I have no experience with audio books, but I can imagine how powerful that format is.
Not only did she write the book over that 18-month period, but she did it while holding down a full-time job. Now THAT is something I cannot even imagine would be possible for the average writer. Amazing!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, July 17, 2016 - 5:38 pm
Earlier today I finished David McCullough's The Wright Brothers. It reminded me that I don't read nearly enough non-fiction as I should. This was an excellent capturing of Orville and Wilbur Wright's story, from their earliest experiments building an airplane to the eventual mastering of that ground-breaking (air-breaking?) invention. Very, very well written. I think I'll read McCullough's other history books - he's written several.
And I've completed the first chapter of The Passage - only 74 more to go. I hope and trust that they'll be as good as the opening chapter!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, July 17, 2016 - 8:18 pm
I'm on chapter 12, Ricky, and it's still good. I finished listening to A Little Life tonight. I don't think I've cried that frequently over a book for quite some time. Thank you, again, for the recommendation!
Now I'm listening to something a bit lighter - Jojo Moyes The Girl You Left Behind.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, July 18, 2016 - 6:32 am
Ric, it will be. You will want to read the next two in quick succession.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, July 18, 2016 - 11:58 am
Teach, I'm relieved you reached the end of the book safely. It was my pleasure to recommend it! I'm glad you're continuing to like The Passage - I have no doubt I will continue to enjoy it, too.
Mamie, thanks for the tip about reading the two follow-ups sooner rather than later. And congratulations on the birth of your grandson - hooray! Taylor Jenkins Reid had her baby, too, so I wrote a little note on her Twitter page saying something along the lines of "If your mothering skills match your writing skills, you'll be an excellent mother."
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, July 18, 2016 - 1:26 pm
Love that, Ric! I saw the pic of little Lilah, so precious.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, July 18, 2016 - 1:27 pm
I have posted lots of pics on Facebook and Instagram but not Twitter. I will have to do that.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, July 19, 2016 - 7:12 pm
I'll keep an eye on your Twitter postings so that I can take a peek at new grandson!
I'm thoroughly enjoying The Passage - despite all the different characters, the writer presents them and their situations very clearly - I've been able to keep track of everybody so far, thank goodness.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Wednesday, July 20, 2016 - 3:17 pm
I finished "Midnight Sun" by Kat Martin. It was pretty good for what it was, mostly romance with a little bit of mystery thrown in.
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Tresbien
Member
08-26-2002
| Saturday, July 23, 2016 - 5:22 pm
As a fan of Paula McLain's The Paris Wife, I decided to try her other novel, Circling The Sun, about the horse trainer and aviator Beryl Markham. McLain's writing alone makes it worth reading, and the story is truly engaging. Highly recommend!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, July 31, 2016 - 12:39 pm
Oh my goodness - an entire week has gone by without a single entry by anyone. It's summer - everyone's on vacation and too busy reading.
Mamie, please don't kill me, but I ended up only being able to tolerate The Passage. I really liked the first 300 pages where we got to know Amy and the FBI agents. It's when the story shifted ahead in time that I liked it less.
To be clear, I didn't hate the rest of the story, it just didn't impact me the way it has impacted others. And I haven't ruled out the possibility of reading the second and third books of the trilogy.
Though it's very different from Stephen King's The Stand, Mr. Cronin's opus personally reminded me too much of that book, which was the last book of King's I ever read (because I disliked it intensely), i.e., I never read any of the books he wrote after The Stand.
So...I hope this doesn't mean we have to "break up," Mamie, and that you won't put me in the doghouse for only tolerating The Passage. (Fingers crossed!)
P.S. Cronin's persistent use of the grammatical interjection "flyers" drove me completely insane. I literally cringed every single time I came across it. 
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, July 31, 2016 - 6:41 pm
I'm reading but it's slow going on all fronts as I'm not very invested in any of them. The Passage is Ok, but I won't be reading the second two books. I do think my DH and DS will love them, though. I'm listening to In the Unlikely Event on CD for our library club. The story is rather meh at the moment, but listening on CD without the ability to speed it up is driving me NUTS! I'm listening to The Girl Left Behind by Moyes, and while it's also OK, it's not got me on the edge of my seat. I've still got What Belongs to You to read this week (due back at library), but I really need to finish at least the Passage book before I start another.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, August 01, 2016 - 7:07 am
Ric, of course I won't kill you. We agree on most books but we are not going to agree on them all. I read the first Outlander book and couldn't finish it and I know Teach is a huge fan. That's the great thing about books. There are so many out there for everybody!
I just finished Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris and boy was I creeped out! A woman marries a seemingly wonderful man but he is actually anything but.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Monday, August 01, 2016 - 7:45 am
Any time you want me to re-read Outlander FOR you, Mamie, you just let me know!! Right now you're re-reading Drums of Autumn (the 4th book in the series) and loving it for the millionth time! LOL
Seriously - I love this thread to see all the different opinions. I've read some fantastic books that I never would have heard of if it weren't for the fabulous readers the Clubhouse!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, August 01, 2016 - 10:05 am
Ric and others who enjoyed The Boys in the Boat..
PBS is running under American Experience "The Boys of '36" which I'm guessing has to be about the same group..
The description "New. "The Boys of '36: A group of working-class boys from the University of Washington, in the United States, surprise a
Enough for me to set it to record.
It probably various by PBS outlet but here on ch25 (TWC) it is running at 9pm tomorrow night..
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, August 01, 2016 - 10:09 am
Actually I read The Passage and while I HAD to finish and was gripped, I also didn't want to be with those people (and I had no clue at that time that zombies were involved) or whatever, but while I thought at the time I'd read the next book when it came out, I never did follow through and didn't feel drawn to do so.. I also felt like I'd need to re-read the first book and it just felt exhausting.
I am still not reading so much in terms of books. I am reading lots of hiker blogs and enjoying them so much.
Am working on the non fiction and rather scary true book Top Screwups Doctors Make and how to avoid them.
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