Anonymous
03/21/2024 22:49
Subject: What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:I am not usually dabbling in so many books but here goes. Some of these I reported in Feb and still haven’t finished.
Frankenstein - hard copy that I think my husband brought into our house that he owned before we got married. It’s ok - I’m trying to force myself to read a classic.
Spare - audiobook - got on a free Amazon trial for Audible (which I did not continue after the 3 free credits) - I think it’s kind of boring.
North by Scott Jurek - kindle ebook- I run and a friend recommended it to me about 2.5 years ago. My library didn’t carry it on Libby and I bought it with Amazon digital rewards credits a couple of years ago and finally getting around to reading it. I like it so far.
I expected “Spare” to be a great book. 📚
It was all hype in my opinion though.
While Harry is very intelligent + articulate, I found his book to be extremely boring and quit reading it after the first 3-4 chapters.
I have been getting into Suspense/Thriller novels this month.
I read “The Housemaid” by Frieda McFadden & am now addicted to all of her books.
I read “The Coworker,” “The Inmate,” etc. and am anxiously awaiting more!
I love good suspense books that I actually skip eating, showers, etc. for!!!
Anonymous
03/21/2024 22:22
Subject: What are you reading for March?
Elsey Come Home, by Susan Conley
Neither fast-paced nor particularly upbeat. But yet I’m loving it. This book is beautifully written (!), and the themes resonate deeply. In a nutshell, it’s about one woman’s midlife journey to understand herself and sort out the various parts of her identity (professional passion + motherhood + marriage + ghosts of childhood). Lots of interior aspects - her feelings and thought processes. Theres a plot involving other characters, but I wouldn’t say that’s the driver.
Curious if anyone has read her other books? I may try another one after this. Her writing is fantastic.
Neither fast-paced nor particularly upbeat. But yet I’m loving it. This book is beautifully written (!), and the themes resonate deeply. In a nutshell, it’s about one woman’s midlife journey to understand herself and sort out the various parts of her identity (professional passion + motherhood + marriage + ghosts of childhood). Lots of interior aspects - her feelings and thought processes. Theres a plot involving other characters, but I wouldn’t say that’s the driver.
Curious if anyone has read her other books? I may try another one after this. Her writing is fantastic.
Anonymous
03/21/2024 21:46
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
I listened to 2 books by Nicholas Sparks. I liked one better than the other.
First I listened to "Dreamland". It was about young love. A 25 year old farmer from North Carolina goes on vacation to Florida. He meets a girl, they fall in love in just a few days time. They write songs together. He goes back to his farm, she goes off to Nashville and sings the songs they wrote together. She becomes an overnight sensation. Meanwhile there was a parallel story about a woman and her son on the run from her abusive husband. The two stories eventually tied in together but I found it annoying to have pretty much two stories in one book.
The second book I listened to was called "Every Breath". It was about old love. A couple meet while they are around 40 years old. They have a romantic week together. They go their separate ways. They find each other again 24 years later. This one made me cry. I liked this one better than the other one.
I downloaded both books from my library.
First I listened to "Dreamland". It was about young love. A 25 year old farmer from North Carolina goes on vacation to Florida. He meets a girl, they fall in love in just a few days time. They write songs together. He goes back to his farm, she goes off to Nashville and sings the songs they wrote together. She becomes an overnight sensation. Meanwhile there was a parallel story about a woman and her son on the run from her abusive husband. The two stories eventually tied in together but I found it annoying to have pretty much two stories in one book.
The second book I listened to was called "Every Breath". It was about old love. A couple meet while they are around 40 years old. They have a romantic week together. They go their separate ways. They find each other again 24 years later. This one made me cry. I liked this one better than the other one.
I downloaded both books from my library.
Anonymous
03/21/2024 21:37
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:ARC reader here. It's been a while since I shared the books I've read that come out in March. Here's my list...
Murder Road by Simone St. James - She's got the paranormal thriller formula down pat. This one isn't ground-breaking and there's a very convenient helper in the mystery, but it's yet another solid entry in her catalog. I personally preferred when she set her books in the 1920s-1940s. Now that she's using the 80s and 90s, they make me feel old.
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle - Two books with the same premise came out within a couple months of each other and they are both well done. Every time a woman starts a relationship, she gets a note with it's expiration date on it. Like "John, three weeks" or something along those lines. The first half was light and fun, but the second half is heavier. There's a happy ending, though.
Sisters of Fortune by Anna Lee Huber - This actually came out at the end of February, but I think it's worth mentioning. It's about the Titanic voyage, focusing on the women in the Fortune family and other Canadians who were on the ship. Most of the characters are real and I don't think it's a spoiler to say that most make it (it's be a pretty depressing book otherwise!) It's does a great job of developing the characters of three sisters. The shipwreck is as scary and tense as you'd expect, but the aftermath is satisfying.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood - I think Ali's agent or publisher is just asking her to pull abandoned stories because almost everything she puts out makes money. This was a pretty average vampire/werewolf romance. I think she should stick to her "women in STEM" formula, which works for her.
What Feasts the Night by T. Kingfisher - sequel to a book based on The Fall of the House of Usher. Fine, but not scary. Missing the humor I expect in T. Kingfisher books.
The Love Remedy by Elizabeth Everett - This is another author who gets the "women in STEM" thing down, but her books are all set in the 1800s. Victorian era apothecary discovers a cure for croup, but her work is stolen. She hires a private inquiry agent to track down the thief and of course, a relationship develops.
I read your post when you first posted and thought that the new book you mentioned by Rebecca Serle sounded interesting. But there was a waiting list the same day it became available at my library. So I suppose I will wait a bit to listen to it.
Thanks for posting about the books you are reading.
Anonymous
03/18/2024 10:20
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera - It's a new thriller/mystery. A podcaster is reviewing a cold case of a woman (Lucy) who is found covered in blood, walking home from a wedding. Her best friend was murdered, the car they left in together was flooded out. Lucy doesn't remember what happened, she isn't charged, the town thinks she did it.
it's easy to read, and good thus far at 40% in...
it's easy to read, and good thus far at 40% in...
Anonymous
03/17/2024 23:00
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President by Allen Guelzo
Anonymous
03/17/2024 21:43
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
Also really want to read this.
Anonymous
03/17/2024 17:52
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
Do you recommend?
So far, yes! If you enjoy nonfiction/history. I’m about halfway through.
Anonymous
03/17/2024 17:50
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
Do you recommend?
Anonymous
03/17/2024 16:43
Subject: What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just finished Dune. Taking a break before reading the next in the series.
Started reading “The Housekeeper and the Professor” by Yoko Ogawa. Interesting so far.
NP and I just got Dune from the library- thoughts before I start?
A lot of people feel that the first 200 or so pages are slow. So keep at it. In my case, Dune was on my “to read” list for a long time but I didn’t want to commit to a series. Well, I recently watched Dune 1 when it was re-released on imax and was totally hooked, and read the book. So it set me up well.
The nice thing about Dune is that it’s a fairly complete story- you can stop at the end. No need to go into the other ones. Or you can keep going in the series, where each successive book is also complete story.
For me, I really liked the first few and then it kind of descends into weirdness beyond my preference and so I stopped, but I still really like the first few, and not finishing the series didn’t impact any enjoyment. (Also the last couple were published posthumously.)
Yeah, I definitely do plan to read more, but I am not a not a “I must read all the books in the series” type of person. Will see how far it takes me. I’ve a close friend whose interests align well with mine, and she thinks I will like books 1-3
Anonymous
03/17/2024 13:17
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
Anonymous
03/17/2024 13:09
Subject: What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just finished Dune. Taking a break before reading the next in the series.
Started reading “The Housekeeper and the Professor” by Yoko Ogawa. Interesting so far.
NP and I just got Dune from the library- thoughts before I start?
A lot of people feel that the first 200 or so pages are slow. So keep at it. In my case, Dune was on my “to read” list for a long time but I didn’t want to commit to a series. Well, I recently watched Dune 1 when it was re-released on imax and was totally hooked, and read the book. So it set me up well.
The nice thing about Dune is that it’s a fairly complete story- you can stop at the end. No need to go into the other ones. Or you can keep going in the series, where each successive book is also complete story.
For me, I really liked the first few and then it kind of descends into weirdness beyond my preference and so I stopped, but I still really like the first few, and not finishing the series didn’t impact any enjoyment. (Also the last couple were published posthumously.)
Anonymous
03/17/2024 11:50
Subject: What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just finished Dune. Taking a break before reading the next in the series.
Started reading “The Housekeeper and the Professor” by Yoko Ogawa. Interesting so far.
NP and I just got Dune from the library- thoughts before I start?
A lot of people feel that the first 200 or so pages are slow. So keep at it. In my case, Dune was on my “to read” list for a long time but I didn’t want to commit to a series. Well, I recently watched Dune 1 when it was re-released on imax and was totally hooked, and read the book. So it set me up well.
Anonymous
03/17/2024 00:43
Subject: Re:What are you reading for March?
I just finished "The Wall" by Marlen Haushofer.
It was originally published in 1963 in Austria and I guess it was translated into English a few years ago.
It is about a middle aged woman who suddenly and accidentally becomes perhaps the last human on earth.
She goes off to spend the weekend with her cousin and the cousin's husband at their hunting lodge. After dropping off groceries and supplies, the husband and wife decide to go into town for a drink. They never return. The next morning the woman decides to go into town to see what happened, and discovers that there is an invisible wall around the land where the hunting lodge is. She explores the boundaries of the wall and notices a neighbor on the other side of the wall who is like a statue. She has her cousin's dog with her. After a couple days a cow shows up, desperate to be milked. A month later a cat shows up. There are plenty of deer to shoot for meat, and she grows potatoes and beans from the groceries they had brought.
I downloaded the book from the library overdrive web site.
I wanted to read this book for about a year. Ever since someone here on the DCUM book club site mentioned this book and described what it was about. I finally got around to reading it.
I found it interesting. Thought provoking.
It was originally published in 1963 in Austria and I guess it was translated into English a few years ago.
It is about a middle aged woman who suddenly and accidentally becomes perhaps the last human on earth.
She goes off to spend the weekend with her cousin and the cousin's husband at their hunting lodge. After dropping off groceries and supplies, the husband and wife decide to go into town for a drink. They never return. The next morning the woman decides to go into town to see what happened, and discovers that there is an invisible wall around the land where the hunting lodge is. She explores the boundaries of the wall and notices a neighbor on the other side of the wall who is like a statue. She has her cousin's dog with her. After a couple days a cow shows up, desperate to be milked. A month later a cat shows up. There are plenty of deer to shoot for meat, and she grows potatoes and beans from the groceries they had brought.
I downloaded the book from the library overdrive web site.
I wanted to read this book for about a year. Ever since someone here on the DCUM book club site mentioned this book and described what it was about. I finally got around to reading it.
I found it interesting. Thought provoking.
Anonymous
03/16/2024 21:02
Subject: What are you reading for March?
Anonymous wrote:On Earth, We Are Briefly Gorgeous
Fabulous
Ocean Young author
It's sitting right here staring at me! Glad you loved it. I actually bought it for the title itself but you have inspired me to actually open the book. Thank you.