| Author |
Message |
Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Tuesday, December 29, 2020 - 8:36 am 
I just finished The Last Flight by Julie Clark. It was exciting and had an interesting twist or two. I liked it a lot!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, January 01, 2021 - 11:40 am
I'm glad you liked TLF, Mak - it was a lot of fun.
Yesterday I finished Rumaan Alam's debut novel from 2016, Rich and Pretty. While it had a few pleasant passages, I really can't recommend it because the story -- what there was of it -- just wasn't compelling enough for me to encourage others to read it. I'm very much debating whether I'll read his two follow-up books (the most recent one was nominated for a National Book Award). We'll see.
I hope everyone is having a Happy New Year and that the year ahead allows all of you to read dozens and dozens (and even more dozens) of books! 
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, January 01, 2021 - 1:29 pm
Thanks to you Ric, I am starting my new year of reading with The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, January 01, 2021 - 2:02 pm
Yay!! I don’t know how Haig pulled it off, but he somehow managed to call forth those “What if I’d done this, instead of that?” emotions that all of us have experienced throughout our lives. I really hope you like it as much as I did. (Fingers crossed!)
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Sunday, January 10, 2021 - 3:54 pm
Finished "Dead on Arrival." It was actually more like Stephen King meets Dean Koontz. Pretty good. I was expecting more from the ending.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Monday, January 11, 2021 - 4:06 pm
Uncle_ricky,I just finished TH1RT3EN by Steve Cavanagh #4 in the Eddie Flynn series and I really liked it. I haven't read #3 yet and obviously a few things happened in #3 that are referenced in #4 but each book can stand on it's own. I hope #3 arrives to the library soon and then will read the latest.
Thanks so much for bringing this author and series to my attention.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, January 11, 2021 - 7:48 pm
Wasn’t it a riot, Sugar? It’s the book that first caught my attention to Mr. Cavanagh, but I had to read the first three before I dug into it. (It was worth the wait!) I’m so glad you liked it!
Last night I finished Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns, her debut. Published in 2010, it’s a phenomenal non-fiction epic about the migration of African-Americans from the Deep South (and the awful, awful, awful Jim Crow laws) to the northern states and to California. It was extremely heartbreaking to read all the vicious cruelties inflicted on the individuals the book focuses on. Ms. Wilkerson’s most recent work, Caste, is one of the most celebrated non-fiction books of the past couple of years. I expect it to be just as good, if not better, than her debut.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Thursday, January 14, 2021 - 12:30 pm
How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith is the latest of the No.1 Ladies Detective Series and it was ok. Pretty typical of the series, I think the last few books have been a bit less fun or interesting but I will continue the series. I was actually surprised I enjoyed the series as whilst I was a book store manager I didn't think they seemed appealing at all.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Saturday, January 16, 2021 - 11:55 pm
Tonight I finished Matthew McConaughey's terrific Greenlights. I've liked a few of his movies, but I've mostly been indifferent since he's never bothered me nor has he ever wowed me. But this book was such a fun read that I have vowed to watch as many of his films as I can (the ones I haven't seen, I mean). He's really quite an interesting human being and his is the type of humility that is so very rare, especially for someone as prominent in show business as he is. Highly recommended!
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, January 18, 2021 - 9:44 am
I started Greenlights yesterday and I am loving it! The story about his time as an exchange student had me laughing out loud.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Monday, January 18, 2021 - 1:28 pm
I thought a book titled Leonard and Hungry Paul with a cover including a fish and scrabble tiles would be a fun quirky read. It wasn't bad just not all I thought it might or could be.
I started The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde but am not sure if I will continue to read it. I can't decide if it is annoyingly convoluted or I just need to read a bit more to give it a chance. If anyone has read this and it is worth more time, please let me know.
I am also reading The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - 9:36 am
As I was reading Greenlights last night, imagine my surprise and delight when I see that he wrote about going to the Catfish Station to watch the all blind Blue Mist band! Our own Nino's husband's band! So cool.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - 10:02 am
Popping in to say that is VERY COOL!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - 10:53 am
Amazing!!! And I’m glad the Australia section made you laugh. I was howling through every sentence of that chapter, just about. 😂😂😂
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Saturday, January 23, 2021 - 8:09 am
I may need to try Matthew’s book. Sounds interesting.
I’ve bought three books recently, but still haven’t been able to read. I’m crazy. Lol
New ones...
Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Sanjay Gupta
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
No One Asked for This - Essays by Cassie David
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, January 23, 2021 - 10:28 am
Rieann, I really liked Nothing to See Here. It is very different.
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Saturday, January 23, 2021 - 10:50 am
Oh good!
When I read the blurb I thought it sounded crazy, but I’ve seen so many people recommended it saying it was funny... and as you said different. The cover alone is funny.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Sunday, January 24, 2021 - 3:44 pm
I just finished The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honneysett by Annie Lyons and it was a winsome read. I may need to find some of her other books.
I am starting Rachel to the Rescue by Elinor Lipman. I have enjoyed most of Ms. Lipman's books and am looking forward to this tale.
Rachel is working in the White House Office of Records Management, aka, WHORM taping together every piece of paper that trump ripped. I suspect that hilarity will ensue.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, January 25, 2021 - 10:30 pm
It took Steve Cavanagh’s personal recommendation to get me to explore the works of James Lee Burke, so I tracked down a copy of his first book, Half of Paradise, published in 1965. It was just okay. His later books are supposed to be much, much better. I only have 39 more to go to be all caught up! 😰
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Tresbien
Member
08-26-2002
| Wednesday, January 27, 2021 - 12:27 pm
Was enjoying Jody Picoult's The Book of Two Ways but loan expired before I could finish it.
Same day I got Glennon Doyle's Untamed Just wow. Read!
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Friday, January 29, 2021 - 2:56 pm
Rachel to the Rescue was ok, not one of the authors best IMO.
Starting The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.
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Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Saturday, January 30, 2021 - 7:25 pm
I just read Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson. It's a weirdly entertaining story. Then I watched The Family Fang, a free movie on youtube based on another book by Kevin Wilson. It was also weirdly entertaining. It stars Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman and the awesomely creepy Christopher Walken.
Now I'm reading Millicent Glenn's Last Wish by Tori Whitaker. It's on my Kindle, and I'm glad it was free because it isn't very good. I'm skimming through it now to get to the end and find out what the last wish and Millicent's big secret are. It's easy to skim because it's so repetitive.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, February 01, 2021 - 10:09 pm
I am in line at the library for both of those Wilson books! I’m glad you have nothing negative to report! 😛
Last night I finished Seymour Stein’s autobiography, Siren Song, which was released a couple of years ago — it was pretty good. He founded Sire Records (which later became part of Warner Brothers Records) and, along the way, discovered Madonna, Talking Heads, Ice-T, The Ramones and many others. It was horribly edited though - at one point he refrrred to Roy Bittan (longtime member of Springsteen’s E Street Band) as “the late Roy Bittan” — Mr. Bittan is not dead!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Thursday, February 04, 2021 - 7:31 pm
I was in part 14 of 16 of listening to American Dirt when my library loan expired mid-sentence! AAUGGGHHH!!! While the consortium has 7 copies in the system, I was 14th on the list, and it specifically stated that some copies were owned by particular libraries and their patrons would get first dibs. Having no patience AND having left the main characters just as they start their desert crossing, I went to Audible and got it for myself. IT IS SO GOOD! It reminds me very much of two documentaries I've shown my Spanish 3 classes: Which Way Home and De Nadie.
I'm still reading Shuggie Bain and The Midnight Library on Kindle but have had almost no time for actual reading. Both are fantastic, and I'm looking forward to more!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Saturday, February 13, 2021 - 6:20 pm
Teach, I'm so glad you're liking SB and TML - loved them both!
And here, via Twitter, is the review of the most recent book I finished earlier today (and the author's response to the tweet) - I love Twitter!
_______________________________________________
John Boyne 📚
@john_boyne
I almost never retweet praise, but sometimes Twitter can lift you up when you're feeling down & you want to share it.
THE ABSOLUTIST was the first of my novels to feature a gay protagonist. Tristan's difficult relationship with his sexuality mirrors my own struggles at times.
_______________________________________________
Quote Tweet
Ric Munoz
@munoz_ric
· 3h
.@john_boyne #TheAbsolutist is really, really, GREAT. It's uncanny that, with each Boyne title I finish, I declare it the best of his I've ever read. I was *not* prepared for the big bombshell in this book -- NOT. AT. ALL. What a joy (sad though it is) to read such fine work.
3:58 PM · Feb 13, 2021·Twitter Web App
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