| Author |
Message |
Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, February 25, 2023 - 5:25 pm 
Those both sound excellent! (My TBR list will need to be my reading challenge some year! LOL)
I've finished all the books I listed above, except for The Mother-in-Law. I started but am not sure I'll finish Lucy by the Sea on audio. I've read a couple other pandemic books, but this one is just dragging me down. The narrator is ALWAYS complaining, negative, dour, and I'm not enjoying it after 4 of 9 parts.
On Kindle I also read Matthew Perry's Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. It was sad but it is amazing he is alive to tell about it. Now I'm reading The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, and it is giving me Project Hail Mary vibes, which I loved. I'm also reading Claire Keegan's book of short stories titled Antarctica. I should finish it tonight, and then I've got the second in the series for tomorrow Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead.
I'm also back to listening to A Breath of Snow and Ashes since the other wasn't working for me.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Sunday, February 26, 2023 - 10:40 am
Teach, I felt the same way about Matthew. How he was still alive is amazing!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Tuesday, February 28, 2023 - 10:47 pm
UNCLE_RICKY - HAPPY BIRTHDAY my reader, recommender of book friend!
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Tuesday, February 28, 2023 - 11:52 pm
I too wish you a Happy Birthday Uncle_ricky although I suppose it is a belated wish as it is past midnight.
Hope you received a great new book as a birthday gift.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Wednesday, March 01, 2023 - 9:53 am
 Happy Birthday Uncle Ricky!
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Wednesday, March 01, 2023 - 2:46 pm
Happy Birthday!
Now, what have you been reading?
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Wednesday, March 01, 2023 - 3:33 pm
Hope it was a great day!!!
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Wednesday, March 01, 2023 - 9:02 pm
Happy Birthday Uncle Ricky! 🎂
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Wednesday, March 15, 2023 - 1:10 pm
I recently finished "The New Girl" by Daniel Silva. It was definitely not anything like I usually read. Mostly Middle Eastern politics, it seemed. Quite a while before I even realize who the new girl was. It was just okay.
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Wednesday, March 15, 2023 - 4:52 pm
After sending 3 books back to the library unfinished, I've begun reading The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff and I am really enjoying it.
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2023 - 10:00 am
Finished The Bandit Queens, a debut book by Parini Shroff. It takes place in a rural village in India with a woman named Geeta being labeled a churel (think evil witch) after her husbands leaves her. The entire village assumes that she killed him and fed him to animals leading many to fear her and not want to be in her presence. After five years of being treated like dirt, she decides to embrace the rumor and begins to help other women in her micro-loan group deal with their difficult and abusive husbands. It is sad and violent at times and yet full of dark humor. I loved seeing the change in her character and hated to see the book end. I'm hoping the author might do a sequel because I already miss the characters.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Monday, March 27, 2023 - 11:51 am
Finished "Time Transit" by Kay Austin. It's a science fiction love story, I guess. It was okay.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, April 01, 2023 - 11:13 am
Audio books finished: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Black Cake, Winter Garden - all three very good. The first is similar to Weir's Project Hail Mary but with a much more diverse cast.
Kindle book finished: From the Ashes This was my "decolonize your bookshelf" book from March, and it was an autobiography that was a rough read due to all the addictive behavior the author dealt with, but still a good read.
Deadtree books finished: Finley Donavon Knocks 'Em Dead and The Mother-in-Law (FINALLY got focused on reading that last one after it sitting on my table for 6 weeks!). Again - both good.
Current audiobook: listening again to An Echo in the Bone in anticipation of Outlander's Season 7 startng June 16.
Current Kindle books: The Couple Next Door and an ARC of How to Say Babylon.
Current deadtree books: The Last Party and The Crocodile Bride.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, April 04, 2023 - 1:00 am
Eeeeeeeeeeekkkk!!!!!
I cannot believe so many days and weeks have gone by. And now that I popped over to see who’s been reading what, I discover — to my horrific embarrassment— that I received so many Happy Birthday wishes!
Can you please forgive me Teach? And Sugar? And Mame? And Grooch? And Jimmer? And Rieann?
I feel terrible! Not about turning 65, but about my shameful delinquency. But I’m also very touched by your kind good wishes! I can’t believe I lost track of time this badly.
I’ll write again soon with the latest update about what I’ve read lately. In the meantime, try not to hold my gruesomely inattentive behavior against me. 😰😰😰
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Tuesday, April 04, 2023 - 8:29 am
He's alive!! 
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Tuesday, April 04, 2023 - 8:39 am
That was my first thought when I saw Ricky's post.
Ricky, don't feel terrible. We are happy to know that you are safe and sound. 
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Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Tuesday, April 04, 2023 - 9:38 am
I was wondering about Ricky just yesterday! So glad to see you're alive and still with us, Ricky.
I'm reading Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. So far it's really good. Eighteen-year-old Asher has been charged in his girlfriend's murder. His mother, a beekeeper, left his abusive father years ago and is afraid Asher may have inherited his dad's abusive tendencies. There are other suspects (in my mind), but none that the police are looking at. Boylan said the basic outline and the idea of writing it with Picoult came to her in a dream, which I find fascinating.
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Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Tuesday, April 04, 2023 - 9:42 am
Jessica George's novel, Maame, is very good! It was a Jenna's Book Club pick.
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Tuesday, April 04, 2023 - 1:54 pm
This is one of my favourite threads. Happy to see you back here, Ricky.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Tuesday, April 04, 2023 - 5:09 pm
Delighted that you popped into the library thread Uncle_ricky. I was a bit concerned that you might be unwell as you had not posted in some time.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, April 08, 2023 - 5:46 pm
No worries, Rik!! I get your GR updates, so I knew you were alive and kickin!
I finished The Last Party and thoroughly enjoyed it. The two sentences right before Part 2 turned the entire novel on its head! I'm also loving The Couple Next Door. It's a bit heavy-handed in the "oops - here's something new you should know to cast suspicion on someone else," but I can't put it down.
Audibooks switched up as The Echo of Old Books came through, so I'm putting Gabaldon's on hold since it's only a re-listen anyway.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, April 09, 2023 - 9:07 pm
I promised myself I would post before the weekend was over, so here I am. I survived Easter dinner at my in-laws, so there's that.
Thank you all for your kind reassurances that you're not mad at me for my disappearing act!
I'm recalling now why I was so AWOL. I had retinal surgery at the end of January, specifically a vitrectomy to treat/repair a condition called epi-retinal membrane (ERM). It affects 10% of the population of people in their 60s-and-older. The surgeon goes in and peels away the membrane layer that has grown over the retina. The earlier it's caught, the easier it is to remove. If it's left completely untreated, the membrane changes over time from a thin to a thick membrane. If it gets too thick, you lose vision in that eye. Mine was caught early while the membrane was still thin. The victrectomy, while not major surgery is also not minor surgery. I lucked out with my surgeon because she assured me she'd remove the membrane with no problem (she's done hundreds of these surgeries) and she turned out to be right. I saw her this past week and she said my eye is healing nicely and that I'll be ready for cataract surgery in that eye (and my other eye) before the end of the year.
So all that surgery madness shut everything down for me, especially all my running. I was able to keep reading since I had the good (right) eye. But the recovery period was nearly 3 weeks long. She had to put an air bubble in my eye to help with the healing, so that was an odd thing to have in my eye for 3 weeks (that's how long it took to dissipate). Anyway, all is well and I'm very relieved to have it behind me!
Here's what I've read since my most recent batch of read-books:
Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis. A fun read, but Ms. Davis was not as forthcoming about her life and her various film roles as I would've liked.
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman. Excellent from start to finish - it was fascinating to read how unconfident he was about his acting abilities over the years.
Start Without Me by Gary Janetti. Hilarious short stories (non-fiction) about his life growing up as a TV and movies-obsessed gay kid in New York City.
Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence by Ken Auletta. Excellently researched and reported by this long-time New Yorker magazine reporter.
The Recoking: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal by Mary L. Trump. It wasn't as juicy as her first book, but it was a good read nonetheless. I love how she skewers her uncle so unapologetically!
The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman. Absolutely marvelous novel about female matchmakers in two eras of New York City Jewish community life.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. I cannot believe this man eluded death - a fascinating read. This guy has had the ultimate guardian angel by his side for many, many years.
Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman by Alan Rickman. I enjoyed them (because I love diaries), but I think more casual readers might not find them as interesting as I did.
Desert Star by Michael Connelly. The latest Ballard & Bosch novel is a total winner!
Your Table is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maitre D' by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina. Did not like it! Read at your own peril (of being unimpressed/bored).
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias. Extremely violent novel about a plot to steal millions from a Mexican drug cartel. Well written, but not as interesting as I had hoped.
Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage and
A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney. Though Delaney wrote these two memoirs several years apart, I read them back-to-back and loved them, especially the latter, which is indescribably sad.
The Twist of A Knife by Anthony Horowitz. The latest Hawthorne & Horowitz murder mystery escapade -- delicious from cover to cover!
We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu. I read this memoir because I loved him on the "Kim's Convenience" TV show. I enjoyed it immensely but some people might be put off by how incessantly he pats himself on the back.
Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer. This is the follow-up/sequel to Greer's Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, Less. It was a bit difficult to get into at first, but once I did, I really liked it a lot.
The One by John Marrs. This was a ton of fun. A little long, but the wild story of people being matched romantically according to their DNA make-up was a real page-turner. The Netflix adaptation is almost unrecognizable, so it's not necessary to read the book before you watch the 8-epsiode series.
The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team by Kara Goucher. I'm a big fan of Kara's. Her graphic descriptions of what happened to her while running for Nike are very disturbing but are a must-read for all female runners at the elite level. Very, very well written.
Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World by Lauren Fleshman. Ms. Fleshman is a peer of Goucher's and her story is similar but her focus is on trying to get young female elite runners to study their bodies while their bodies are maturing at the same time they're trying to compete at the highest levels of track and field. Another extremely well written memoir!
Lie With Me by Philippe Besson. A deeply tragic love story set in 1980s rural France involving two high school boys and what happens to them after they become adults. The novel was translated from the French by Molly Ringwald (yes, *that* Molly Ringwald -- what a talented woman she is!).
Look Both Ways by Linwood Barclay. Mr. Barclay's latest thriller is totally out of control fun involving self-driving cars that get sabotaged to attack their (human) owners.
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. A wonderful reminder about what a brilliant writer Ms. Wharton was. Written in 1913, the story of Undine Spragg is both arresting and exasperating -- the writing is utterly, utterly fabulous.
Thanks for reading -- sorry for the painfully long post. I hope everyone had a nice Easter Sunday!
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Wednesday, April 19, 2023 - 3:37 pm
Finished another Dollar General book by Dale Brown. I was thinking it was another Brown. The one who wrote the Davinci Code. It was not him. This one was another foreign military type book. Okay, but not what I was expecting. Called Raven Strike.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Tuesday, April 25, 2023 - 10:59 am
Finished Running Scared by Lisa Jackson. This one was good. A boy was "adopted" by a woman and his rich uncle later tries to find him, but his biological father found him first.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, April 28, 2023 - 10:07 pm
**dives into Ricky's list to add to my TBR** I had a bubble in my eye for my retinal detachment a few years back. It was the most fascinating thing watching it shrink! I could see mine over 6 weeks later. Glad your surgery was successful, Ricky! 💛
Here's what I've been reading since I last posted (slowed way down as I'm in musical season so I'm only home about 40 minutes between 8:30am and 11:00pm!)
Finished & loved The Couple Next Door as well as Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire. The latter is non-fiction written about working in a bookshop that specializes in old/antique books. Oliver is fantastic to follow on Twitter if you love RPG - he creates a lot of 1-page games, and even has a bookseller's game at the back of his book.
In audiobooks, I finished The Echo of Old Books, Under the Udala Trees and The End We Start From. Enjoyable first one, excellent if frustrating topic in the second, while the latter was a super short (3-ish hour) end of the world novella - I think I liked it.
I must have been on a bookshop kick as I also read
in deadtree form The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks. A quick little romp that made me smile.
I'm back to listening to Echo in the Bone, have An Uncommon Reader and How to Say Babylon going on Kindle, and in deadtree books am reading The Nickel Boys by Coleson Whitehead (horrifying, based on a real "reform" school for Black boys in the 60s in Tallahassee), and The Country without a Post Office. That last one is a poetry book that is my April read for my Decolonize Your Bookshelf challenge - BIPOC poetry.
Whew! I'm in the middle of a 25-day stretch where I don't have a single, total day at home, so I'll catch up again in another couple weeks when I have some more significant reading time.
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