What is everyone reading in May?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My book club is reading The Measure by Nikki Erlick. You wake up like every other day and find a box at your door. This box has a string inside. The length determines how long you will live. Some people want to open the box, others don’t want to know their fate. Will society treat the short stringers differently?

Goodreads gave this book 4 stars and I agree.

This sounds good.

To me it was very fluff and not well written BUT it’s a great book for a book club because it does lend itself to lots of interesting discussion.

[Anonymous]

Finally finished “Babel.” I enjoyed it though it felt a lot like a Secret History + Harry Potter remix in terms of characters and setting. Some of it was also quite heavy handed about the underlying thesis but I suppose it leans slightllllly YA (maybe?) so that’s not so surprising. Overall, I quite liked it.

[Anonymous]

All the World Beside, by Garrad Conley. Set in Massachusettsin 1730, about two gay men, one a minister, in a small village, and their families.
Verygood so far. I like the author’s writing style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colm Toibin's new book, the sequel to Brooklyn, called Long Island.

Its fantastic. I was worried it might not be after having loved Brooklyn so much. But it's great. It will win awards.

Waiting for this one from the library and looking forward to it. I loved Brooklyn! It had a slow start but then picked up and was such a satisfting read. I'm interested to see what happens to the characters.

Oh, good to hear. I have this marked as my first beach book for vacation in July. I also loved Brooklyn.

[Anonymous]

I listened to "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" by David Sedaris.
It's hard to explain what it was about because books by David Sedaris have no discernible plot. He is a comedian who ruminates on random stuff.
His books always leave me confused. But I think that is because I keep expecting a plot to whatever he is talking about, and he so often veers way off course of what I was expecting he was going to talk about.
I downloaded it from my library website. I downloaded it because a couple of my friends are big fans of his books. I like his stuff too, but I guess I need to just accept that his books are just ramblings from a comedian and to quit expecting a beginning, a middle and an end, like in "regular" books.

[Anonymous]

On to “Heart’s Invisible Furies.” Really liking it so far.

As I read the first few chapters, I thought, “This so reminds me of John Irving.” Then I see that it’s dedicated to John Irving.

[Anonymous]

Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne

It's fascinating!

[Anonymous]

I just started Happiness Falls. I’m only a few chapters in. The beginning is very compelling so I hope it stays this good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am finishing Tom Lake, which I am reading because I went to a lunch where Ann Patchett was the guest and copies of the book were the gift. Really enjoying the book.

Next up is First Lie Wins, which is my neighborhood book club pick for June.

I was super disappointed by this book. It was entertaining enough for part of it but overall I thought it was boring and not particularly well written and I am not in a hurry to see if the author wrote anything else. I'll be curious to hear what your book club thinks about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My book club is reading The Measure by Nikki Erlick. You wake up like every other day and find a box at your door. This box has a string inside. The length determines how long you will live. Some people want to open the box, others don’t want to know their fate. Will society treat the short stringers differently?

Goodreads gave this book 4 stars and I agree.

This sounds good.

To me it was very fluff and not well written BUT it’s a great book for a book club because it does lend itself to lots of interesting discussion.

DP, but I agree. Not great literature but entertaining and great for a conversation!

[Anonymous]

Just finished The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.

It was our book club selection (not by me) for this month and I read it on my Kindle.

It was a very interesting book, at times funny and at times very intense - almost like two different books. I read it in three nights and it's not super short so I did find it very engaging but it isn't something I'm sure I'd recommend to anyone because it was very odd in so many ways (and I like odd, so it didn't bother me, but I'm not sure who the audience should be).

It's about exactly what it says - a book club in Charleston South Carolina finds itself dealing with vampires. Ironically I was listening to and finished on the same day the Audible version of Salem's Lot, so I've had my fill of vampires for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just finished The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.

It was our book club selection (not by me) for this month and I read it on my Kindle.

It was a very interesting book, at times funny and at times very intense - almost like two different books. I read it in three nights and it's not super short so I did find it very engaging but it isn't something I'm sure I'd recommend to anyone because it was very odd in so many ways (and I like odd, so it didn't bother me, but I'm not sure who the audience should be).

It's about exactly what it says - a book club in Charleston South Carolina finds itself dealing with vampires. Ironically I was listening to and finished on the same day the Audible version of Salem's Lot, so I've had my fill of vampires for a while.

^ I really enjoyed that one. I started reading that author when a bookstore worker told me to read My Best Friend's Exorcism, and I liked it so much.

I just finished The Exchange, John Grisham's sequel to The Firm - and my gd is it boring. I am writing a book myself right now and I picked it up because I remember how gripping The Firm was when I read it way back when, and I felt like I could use a little refresher in how to make people not want to put your book down. Well I did not get that from this one. It was just so slow - and pointless. Boring plot, boring characters, lots of scenes of getting on a plane then sitting on a plane then getting off a plane.

[Anonymous]

Master Slave Husband Wife - incredible real life story of a slave couple who pose as a white man and his slave to escape the south in the 1840s and their contributions to the antislavery cause afterwards. At times reads like a fast paced thriller!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne

It's fascinating!

Highly recommend “The Sociopath Next Door” for you. Engaging read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just finished The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.

It was our book club selection (not by me) for this month and I read it on my Kindle.

It was a very interesting book, at times funny and at times very intense - almost like two different books. I read it in three nights and it's not super short so I did find it very engaging but it isn't something I'm sure I'd recommend to anyone because it was very odd in so many ways (and I like odd, so it didn't bother me, but I'm not sure who the audience should be).

It's about exactly what it says - a book club in Charleston South Carolina finds itself dealing with vampires. Ironically I was listening to and finished on the same day the Audible version of Salem's Lot, so I've had my fill of vampires for a while.

^ I really enjoyed that one. I started reading that author when a bookstore worker told me to read My Best Friend's Exorcism, and I liked it so much.

I just finished The Exchange, John Grisham's sequel to The Firm - and my gd is it boring. I am writing a book myself right now and I picked it up because I remember how gripping The Firm was when I read it way back when, and I felt like I could use a little refresher in how to make people not want to put your book down. Well I did not get that from this one. It was just so slow - and pointless. Boring plot, boring characters, lots of scenes of getting on a plane then sitting on a plane then getting off a plane.

I agree with the Grisham opinion. His early books were so good. But his books of the last 10 - 15 years are, to me at least, rather dull. I have not bothered to read his latest few books.