Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m about a third into Tom Lake. This will be a DNF for me. I just don’t find the story or the characters interesting.

Yes! Everyone loved it but I couldn't get into it at all.

Agree, another NOPE for Tom Lake. I simply did not care about the story. Also what grown children want to hear about their parent’s past?

Anonymous wrote:Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Yellowface by RF Kuang
Come and Get it by Kiley Reid

Goal is to finish all three. Almost done with the first.

Decided to read Black Cake because of the Hulu original. The TV show was really well done. I actually find the TV show better. Book is not really captivating me. Not glued to it, etc. That being said, it is well written. The prose is beautiful. Yellowface was on a lot of 2023 “best book” lists. With respect to Come and Get It, I read the author’s first novel (Such a Fun Age). So, wanted to give her sophomore release a try.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Yellowface by RF Kuang
Come and Get it by Kiley Reid

Goal is to finish all three. Almost done with the first.

Anonymous wrote:I’m about a third into Tom Lake. This will be a DNF for me. I just don’t find the story or the characters interesting.

Yes! Everyone loved it but I couldn't get into it at all.

Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m still plugging through Spare. I am listening to it (I don’t do audiobooks often - but I occasionally do it when it’s a famous person reading their autobio). Anyway, I’m going to plow through it to get it over with but I’m not sure how much more of his whining I can take!

I want to read The Women when I finish this.

I hated The Women. And I loved some of her other books like The Great Alone. Hated Firefly Lane. I'm hit or miss with her.

I have read 3 of her books. I liked The Four Winds (read first) and the Nightingale (read second) a lot. I gave those 4 stars each. For the Great Alone (read 3rd) - I loved the AK scenery but with the ending, I was kind of like - come on now - and gave it 3 stars. So we will see what I think of The Women. I am really not sure - maybe I’m over her schtick - not sure yet!!

I'm the one who loved The Great Alone and I agree with you, I hated the end. But I loved the rest of the book so much that I forgave it.

I finished Listen For the Lie by Amy Tintera (audiobook) yesterday. It's the story of a woman who has been accused (by people, not law enforcement) of murdering her best friend but she doesn't remember what happened. I ended up speeding it up a lot at the end just to find out who did it. I'd give it maybe 1.5/5. It wasn't awful but it wasn't nearly as interesting as I was hoping, and none of the characters were very compelling, but I did finish it, so that's why it gets some stars.

Now I am listening to A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult, which is about a shooter at an abortion clinic. Her books I find I either love or hate. This one was compared to Small Great Things, which I loved, but is not remotely as compelling. She plays with time a lot (this one counts backwards from 5 pm to 4 pm to 3 pm etc.) in many of her books, but for some reason this one doesn't work for me. This isn't a spoiler, but learning more about a character that you find out at the beginning of the book is dead isn't all that interesting. I'll probably finish it but I don't really care about any of the characters. I'll rate it when I'm done but right now it's a 2.5/5.

I finished reading (on Kindle) Beyond That, The Sea by Laura Spence-Ash on Monday. It's about a girl who moves to America from London during WWII. The book spans decades and although there were some parts I found to be a little bit slow, overall I loved the book and would give it a solid 4.5/5.

Now I am reading (on Kindle) Sorry Not Sorry by Sophie Ranald, which is a romantic comedy about a girl who is trying to shake up her dating life. It was described as laugh-out-loud funny but I haven't laughed yet... It's ok, easy enough to read and I wasn't expecting great literature or anything, but I've read similar type books that were just far better done. I'll rate it when I'm done but right now it's probably a 3/5.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m still plugging through Spare. I am listening to it (I don’t do audiobooks often - but I occasionally do it when it’s a famous person reading their autobio). Anyway, I’m going to plow through it to get it over with but I’m not sure how much more of his whining I can take!

I want to read The Women when I finish this.

I hated The Women. And I loved some of her other books like The Great Alone. Hated Firefly Lane. I'm hit or miss with her.

I have read 3 of her books. I liked The Four Winds (read first) and the Nightingale (read second) a lot. I gave those 4 stars each. For the Great Alone (read 3rd) - I loved the AK scenery but with the ending, I was kind of like - come on now - and gave it 3 stars. So we will see what I think of The Women. I am really not sure - maybe I’m over her schtick - not sure yet!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m about a third into Tom Lake. This will be a DNF for me. I just don’t find the story or the characters interesting.

And I was coming in here to say I loved Tom Lake! Maybe it’s the references to Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town’ or just the mother/daughter’s theme I enjoyed. I understand that Meryl Streep narrates it on the audiobook but I’ve just read it .

I enjoyed Tom Lake and also think it coasted on the writer being really good and that masking a pretty meh story! But the funny thing is that the whole time, I pictured the main character AS Meryl Streep - even though she's not the right age for it. I read that one, didn't listen to the audiobook, so I had no idea that MS narrated.

I feel like it you're not charmed to bits by the writing/setting, then Tom Lake is going to be a miss.

I just finished a book I LOVED - Piglet, about a woman who learns her fiance has betrayed her and then can't stop eating. It's very lit fic - little plot, lots of beautiful food writing, with the suspense of a horror movie.

Then got a Kindle Unlimited of Crazy To Leave You - another book about a woman betrayed by her fiance. This one is very much women's lit - a lot lighter and breezier, more of a perfect man steps in to help the main character heal, etc. I've read other books by this author, and I enjoy that she's funny, wry, and the main characters/families are always very Jewish, which I appreciate (you don't get a lot of Jewish romcoms, do you?). The MCs are always really struggling with their weight and their mothers, and in both cases you can feel like it's too much. But, it's overall fun.

If you want to read something that's the similar to but also the opposite of this, try Thinner or Elevation by Stephen King. They're both great, first is a book, second is a short story.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two books by Sophie Kinsella.
She is a British author who writes romcoms set in or around London.

The first book was called "Can You Keep A Secret". It was about a young woman who sits on a plane and freaks out when the plane hits turbulence. She ends up confessing lots of stuff to a nearby plane passenger. The next day when she arrives at work she discovers that the fellow plane passenger is actually the CEO and founder of the company she works for.

The next book was called "I owe you one". A woman is in a coffee shop and the guy at the table next to hers asks her to watch his laptop for a few minutes while he takes a phone call outside. The ceiling happens to cave in from a water leak while the guy is outside . She saves his laptop. They strike up a relationship.

I liked both books. They were both fun. I thought the characters and the story were well developed.

I picked up those particular books because I have read a few other books by the same author and always enjoy her books.

I downloaded the books from my library Libby / Overdrive website.

Have you read her book, “I’ve Got Your Number”? I really like “Can You Keep a Secret?” and “The Undomestic Goddess”, but “I’ve Got Your Number is my favorite by her. I don’t think I’ve read “I Owe You One”, so I’ll have to look for it.

I haven't read "I've got your number" yet, but I plan to this year. Actually, my plan is to download every book my library has available by Sophie Kinsella. I have read the two I mentioned and also her book "Remember me". I found all three to be delightful.

The Confessions of a Shopaholic books are a lot of fun. Also, the movie is enjoyable fluff.

Anonymous wrote:Just finished The Women, which I really liked - 4 stars. I want to go visit the nurse statue at the Vietnam Memorial now.

Also just finished Going Zero, by Anthony McCarten, about a Facebook-like company that partners with the CIA to run a competition where normal citizens try to "disappear" for 30 days without being found, and the book follows both the hunters and the hunted. It was a fun adventure novel, but I thought the writing was kind of so-so.

Felt the opposite about The Woman but agree with you on Going Zero! I thought the writing was kind of humorous, which I always appreciate, but I wouldn't say it was great literature. The premise was great for conversation - our family had a whole talk one dinner about how we would try to win and what we would do!

Anonymous wrote:Trying to decide between Lincoln Highway or Song of Achilles

If you end up liking this, let me know. I tried listening to it and it was SO slow (and I sped it up!) and eventually I just gave up. I kept wanting to care about the characters and I just didn't.

Anonymous wrote:I’m still plugging through Spare. I am listening to it (I don’t do audiobooks often - but I occasionally do it when it’s a famous person reading their autobio). Anyway, I’m going to plow through it to get it over with but I’m not sure how much more of his whining I can take!

I want to read The Women when I finish this.

I hated The Women. And I loved some of her other books like The Great Alone. Hated Firefly Lane. I'm hit or miss with her.

Anonymous wrote:Airframe, by Michael Crichton. It’s not new, but it’s been on my list for a long time.

I just re-read this last year!

Anonymous wrote:Two books by Sophie Kinsella.
She is a British author who writes romcoms set in or around London.

The first book was called "Can You Keep A Secret". It was about a young woman who sits on a plane and freaks out when the plane hits turbulence. She ends up confessing lots of stuff to a nearby plane passenger. The next day when she arrives at work she discovers that the fellow plane passenger is actually the CEO and founder of the company she works for.

The next book was called "I owe you one". A woman is in a coffee shop and the guy at the table next to hers asks her to watch his laptop for a few minutes while he takes a phone call outside. The ceiling happens to cave in from a water leak while the guy is outside . She saves his laptop. They strike up a relationship.

I liked both books. They were both fun. I thought the characters and the story were well developed.

I picked up those particular books because I have read a few other books by the same author and always enjoy her books.

I downloaded the books from my library Libby / Overdrive website.

I've read everything by Sophie Kinsella - if you like her, definitely check out Sophie Cousens. I'm actually enjoying her books more these days.