| Author |
Message |
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Saturday, April 13, 2019 - 11:40 am 
Kappy, I hope you like NPS as much as I did - there are many laugh-out-loud passages spread among all the mayhem going on.
This morning I finished Andrew McCabe's The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump. I knew it would make me angry all over again about the state of our nation, but after seeing McCabe on Bill Maher's show a few weeks ago, I was impressed with how he handled himself. His book is very fact-based and he's able to keep his emotions out of describing the hell he endured while serving as acting FBI Director after James Comey got fired. It's hard not to be angry after reading a book like this, but it's important to be informed about how truly awful the mangling of the presidency has gone down -- his first-hand testimony is difficult to read, yes, but it's a historical record that must never be forgotten.
This afternoon I'll dive into my Hot-of-the-Press library copy of The Silent Patient. Had I stayed "in line" my regular-wait-time copy would've become available sometime near Memorial Day! Now I get to wolf it down immediately -- I gotta finish it by Thursday night!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, April 14, 2019 - 6:25 pm
I'm pleased to report that all the hype surrounding The Silent Patient is very much deserved. Anyone who reads it is bound to have the same reaction I did, which was "Wow! What a great debut and what an honest-to-goodness thriller that turned out to be!"
Mr. Michaelides has a very promising career ahead of him. The book has been in the N.Y. Times top-ten-best-sellers list for several weeks now and I don't think it'll be vacating that top ten anytime soon. Don't say your Uncle Ricky didn't warn you about how good it is (well, actually, Rieann and Mamie warned you first -- I'm just piling on with the praise). 
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, April 19, 2019 - 8:29 pm
That Lisa Jewell is really something else. I'm reading her books in the order she wrote them - she's published 16 thus far. I finished her third (from 2001), One-Hit Wonder earlier today. It's a moving family drama about two estranged U.K.-based sisters, one 36 the other 25, and how their relationship gets rocked by a tragic event. I absolutely loved it (and, yes, it made me cry). 
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, April 21, 2019 - 7:23 am
Just got a notification that my Kindle library loan for Nine Perfect Strangers ends in 3 days - so going to try to power read it. The next two weeks are crazy busy (I swear, every "extra" job I have has big stuff happening!), so this will probably be the only reading I get done, other than listening to Becoming as I run around in circles! LOL
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, April 21, 2019 - 7:25 am
Rick - do you have a master list somewhere of your books and your ratings of them?
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, April 22, 2019 - 12:14 am
Teach, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to be finish NPS in three days because it moves pretty quickly. Regarding a master list, I do have one but it only covers the 537 books I've read since the beginning of this decade, i.e., since 1/1/2010, via the Goodreads site. You have to be a member of Goodreads to take a peek at it - just type Ric Munoz in the search field after you log in and that will take you to that list. Assuming you do take that peek, it's safe to assume that anything I've rated 4 or 5 stars is good-to-excellent; anything that's 3 stars is iffy, because it usually means it had its good moments as well as weak moments. As for anything rated 1 star or 2 stars, that certainly means I didn't like it. I don't write reviews there - the way most people do - I just use the site to memorialize all the books I read so that I can remind myself what I've read and to prevent accidentally reading something again when I don't intend to do that!
Tonight I finished Omarosa Manigault-Newman's Unhinged - An Insider's Account of the Trump White House. When she was on Celebrity Big Brother, I totally expected to dislike Omarosa as much as I did when she was on The Apprentice. But, to my surprise, she wasn't as objectionable as I assumed. She writes very, very well and I liked the way she captured the highlights of her time in the White House. I had no idea she'd experienced so much gun-violence-related tragedy in her life. Or that she was supposed to work for Mrs. Clinton during the 2016 campaign until something happened that forced her to abandon Clinton and seek a job with Trump. I gave it three stars on Goodreads because it wasn't good enough for a 4 or a 5 while being definitely better than a 1 or a 2.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, April 22, 2019 - 10:18 am
I didn't realize you were on GoodReads, Ric. (as I go to send you a friend request)
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Monday, April 22, 2019 - 9:04 pm
Finished Dean Koontz's "The Forbidden Door". It was good, as all his books usually are. This was the 4th book in a series about Jane Hawk. I read The Whispering Room a while back. It was good, too. I heard you don't have to read them in order. Maybe not. But it would probably be best.
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Lakecat
Member
10-01-2006
| Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - 9:28 am
Is Daisey Jones a big book?
I get together with a group of women from high school once a month for the last several years. Now I have to drive to Texas to do it. We’ve decided to do a book club of sorts. I’m thinking that would be a great book to start. We were the hippie chicks of the 70s in our high school. I don’t want to suggest anything too heavy for our first book and nothing political since we are split even down the middle with passionate opinions where that’s concerned. Would Daisey Jones fit the bill?
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Saggkl
Member
07-16-2002
| Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - 11:32 am
Has anyone read Karin Whites books? I started out with her books about The House on Tradd Street, and went from there. I have now finished all of her books.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - 12:03 pm
I haven’t read either of those. What are Karen Whites books about?
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - 1:56 pm
I enjoy Karen White's books.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - 7:49 am
Has anyone read The Wife by Alafair Burke? If so, was it worth reading?
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - 7:52 am
Lakecat, go read Kappy's post in the archives on March 23. She left a review of Daisy Jones.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - 8:43 am
Lakecat, it is not a big book. I am a 70s chick too and I loved it. I liken it to a really good Behind the Music.
I have read The Wife and I really loved it. Hope you do too.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - 9:14 am
Thanks, Mamie!
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Lakecat
Member
10-01-2006
| Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - 7:14 pm
Thank you both.
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 8:44 am
So I just finished the first book in the Game of Thrones series and I'm trying to decide whether to go ahead and read the books or watch the series. Any advice? (I read the book to see whether I wanted to invest the time in watching the series and I do find myself wondering what happens with the characters, most specifically Dany (not going to try and spell that out) and Arya). Of course the information is easy to find but where I want to invest my time and money is the question...?
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 10:50 am
Last night I finished Josie Silver's (very popular) debut, One Day in December. Overall, the book is a success and I enjoyed it very much. It could have been trimmed by at least 50 pages; it went on a little bit too long, but not horrifically so. An excellent love story through and through.
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 12:55 pm
Grooch - I haven't read any of Alafair Burke's books but Harlan Coben was tweeting about her newest one, The Better Sister, so I have added both books to my never-ending list.
Lakecat - Have you considered Where the Crawdads Sing? Reese Witherspoon has a book club with some good suggestions.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 12:58 pm
My aunt just read Where The Crawdads Sing and she really liked it. She even wants the book back when she lends it out.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 1:23 pm
Roxip, IMO both the books and the series are great. You can’t go wrong.
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 3:02 pm
Thanks Jimmer. I'm leaning towards the series because I have heard that it diverges from the books and that would annoy me greatly if I watched the series after the fact.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 4:48 pm
Like I said, you can’t go wrong.
The series does diverge somewhat from the books. It’s more that he hasn’t finished the last two books so the series goes far beyond what he’s written so far. It’s looking more and more like he may never finish writing the books so if you’re picking one or the other, the show may be a better option.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 7:48 pm
I am reading The Better Sister right now and it is good!
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