Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just started “He who Drowned the World” a little late to the party because I didn’t realize the second book was out.

Gets complicated and there's a lot more overt magic than in the first one, but I just read it and enjoyed it.

Just finished— I loved it despite the weird decision to make magic a weapon in the last 1/6 of the story. In really liked how limited magic was in the first one!

Just finished North Woods by Daniel Mason and I absolutely loved it. 5 star read.

I liked Tom Lake, but I didn't like the daughters. They were terribly annoying to me, especially the oldest and how they had to walk on eggshells around her constantly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just read The Guest by Emma Cline. My first 2 out of 5 rating in a while.

Yeah, I didn't really enjoy it and it stressed me out.

I did the audio book while on a very long solo car trip, I was so stressed listening, I found myself speeding.
The audio book narrator was terrible, every male voice made me think of an eastern European gangster, and the way the narrator pronounced Alex bugged me so much, but I needed to finish it ans see what happened at the end.
The joke was on me with that. lol

Big Swiss. Recommend!

Anonymous wrote:So far I have read:
-Hello Beautiful-- loved it, 4.5 stars
-The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness-- 5 stars, it was thoroughly enlightening and I admire Elyn Saks' bravery in narrating her struggles with schizophrenia which I think was part of her commitment to spreading mental health awareness/helping others.
-Veil of Doubt-- 3 stars, meh, it was okay. It was part historical fiction/part mystery and not really my type of book but it was an easy read.
-The School for Good Mothers-- got about 35% of the way through before putting it down. I really enjoyed the first section of it but then it turned dystopian, which I'm often not a fan of.

Currently reading:
-North Woods, about 25% of the way through and enjoying it.

Currently listening to on audiobook during my commute: The Women of Chateau Layfayette and enjoying it so much thus far that I wish I was actually reading the book instead.

On my list to read next:
-Between Two Kingdoms
-The Mountains Sing
-The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
-The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions
-The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World

The School for Good Mothers was not good so you didn’t miss anything by DNF. I enjoyed Heaven and Earth Grocery Store.

I just finished In Memoriam by Alice Winn. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I’m reading Black England: A Forgotten Georgian History. Fascinating.

So far I have read:
-Hello Beautiful-- loved it, 4.5 stars
-The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness-- 5 stars, it was thoroughly enlightening and I admire Elyn Saks' bravery in narrating her struggles with schizophrenia which I think was part of her commitment to spreading mental health awareness/helping others.
-Veil of Doubt-- 3 stars, meh, it was okay. It was part historical fiction/part mystery and not really my type of book but it was an easy read.
-The School for Good Mothers-- got about 35% of the way through before putting it down. I really enjoyed the first section of it but then it turned dystopian, which I'm often not a fan of.

Currently reading:
-North Woods, about 25% of the way through and enjoying it.

Currently listening to on audiobook during my commute: The Women of Chateau Layfayette and enjoying it so much thus far that I wish I was actually reading the book instead.

On my list to read next:
-Between Two Kingdoms
-The Mountains Sing
-The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
-The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions
-The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World

Anonymous wrote:I just finished Horse, by Geraldine Brooks. I spent the first half thinking I was enjoying it more than I expected to, but by the end I had soured a bit. I found the modern story re race to be a bit broadly drawn nor did I think the romance was especially persuasive. I did like the discussion of their professional lives and wish there had been more of that. The civil war era story was interesting, but the life of Jarrett, the enslaved groom, with a few fairly short lived exceptions seemed like a suspiciously pleasant life for an enslaved groom. And the 1950s era story re the art dealer seemed entirely tacked on. So, overall it was not uninteresting, but in the end it is not really a recommendation from me.

I felt similiarly-- I enjoyed the first 35-40% more than I expected to but around 50-60% I just couldn't continue anymore and put it down.

Anonymous wrote:Just finished Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaoud. It was very good. If you read it, watch “American Symphony” on Netflix right after.

Almost done with Congratulations the Best is Over by R. Eric Thomas. So funny.

Oooh I just watched American Symphony last night and then promptly added her book to my list of books to read. Glad you enjoyed it!

I just finished Horse, by Geraldine Brooks. I spent the first half thinking I was enjoying it more than I expected to, but by the end I had soured a bit. I found the modern story re race to be a bit broadly drawn nor did I think the romance was especially persuasive. I did like the discussion of their professional lives and wish there had been more of that. The civil war era story was interesting, but the life of Jarrett, the enslaved groom, with a few fairly short lived exceptions seemed like a suspiciously pleasant life for an enslaved groom. And the 1950s era story re the art dealer seemed entirely tacked on. So, overall it was not uninteresting, but in the end it is not really a recommendation from me.

I just finished North Woods, and loved it. Well written and interesting. I loved how the language changed to reflect the era and the depiction of the flora and fauna.

Reading Tom Lake now and am enjoying it.

Also read Never Let Me Go. Very good, haunting, albeit slow in parts.

I'm reading North Woods - I'm really liking it. Inventive and readable/engaging.

I just finished reading a book by Richard Paul Evans. It was called "The mistletoe secret". It was a romance, set in Utah. It was fine.
I also read a book by Marie Bostwick. It was called "A thread so thin". It was about a young woman who is finishing up her senior year of college when her boyfriend proposes to her. She is so surprised that she says yes just to be polite. Then her aunt goes way overboard with wedding plans. The book was fine.
The other physical book I read this month was called "The nine lessons". I mentioned this book earlier in this thread. It was about a father giving his young adult son life lessons while they play golf together.

So that makes 3 books I have read on paper this month. I prefer to listen to audiobooks so I can multitask, but since I have a stack of physical books sitting around I thought I would "tidy up" by actually reading a few of them so I can donate them. Also I know some people say that listening to a book doesn't count, so I can now indisputably say I have read more books with my eyes in 2024 than most Americans read in a year (based on that other thread that says more than half of Americans read 3 books or less per year).

Now I want to get back to listening to audiobooks while being productive.