Book Lovers Club
Comments
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I am reading a weird novel called The Immortalists. Can't remember the author. I seldom find myself not wanting to finish a book but I'm fighting that instinct. The main character is a scientist doing research on a rare children's disease that causes them to age quickly and die young. Some evil force is as work killing off scientists doing research on aging. Soon this scientist, his wife and sick child with the early aging disease are on the run. He has learned that a rich man who was his benefactor is actually in league with whoever is killing off the scientists. The plot is a bit much.
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Carole, if you're not enjoying it - put it down! Life is too short to read bad books. (Dying children - ugh) I'm confident that you'll find a replacement book that is worth your time!
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I agree. I had to get past age 65 before I would allow myself to stop reading a book I'd started. No more. life is too short.
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I have stopped reading books that were so poorly written that I couldn't "suspend disbelief." I have finished excellent books and felt anger toward the author because the ending was so painful. Portnoy's Complaint comes to mind. I never read another book by that author. I will finish The Immortalists but will switch into fast-read mode. The author is skilled enough to make me want to find out how he ties the loose ends.
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I am with you, ladies! If a book is poorly written, I'll drop it immediately. But if just hate the content, I'll soldier through it. And if I don't like a writer who is highly prised, I'll give him three tries (meaning, I'll read 3 books by him). Sometimes he grows on me. Reading Rhe Help by Kathryn Stokett now, and so far I like it.
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So happy to hear I’m not the only one that will stop reading an awful book. I also throw them out. Usually the terrible ones I’ve picked up from a used book shop or garage sale
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Carole, you made me laugh because I, too, will finish a book I'm not enjoying just to learn the outcome. (Although I will admit that on occasion I will peek at the ending just to see whether it's worth finishing before I invest the time.) Inna, I like your 3 book! And I think you'll enjoy The Help. Hard to believe that era was so recent ...
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Not having much time to read lately or to be honest, taking time-out as a priority to read. However, I do read reviews and yesterday, this article was in the Guardian Book Review: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/02/books-to-give-us-hope
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Thanks Lilac. Reading reviews is always a nice way to spend part of a lazy Sunday.
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Just finished The Nest by Sweeny. Great book, about a slightly dysfunctional family in New York, and how their lives are affected by a promised inheritance. First book for this author, I liked her style of writing and winding all the characters together.
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Recently bought Barbara Bush’s memoir and Laura Bush’s book. Have yet to read them as I am still catching up with other books.
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hi all and welcome InnaB2018. Now #1 on the library waitlist for the new Jane Hawk The Crooked Staircase. They must only have one copy and everyone who's borrowed it ahead of me must be taking the full three weeks to read it. C'mon people, hurry the heck up! I'd like to read #3 in the series before #4 comes out this fall.
Enjoyed Ken Follett's new book A Column of Fire (third in the series that started with Pillars of the Earth). Picked up two "beach bag books": The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews, and The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg. Both easy reads, suitable for summer.
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Just finished Beartown (by the author of A Man Called Ove). I was so engrossed that I took it to the gym with me & finished it while on a bike (yes, I know that's not good form but it was that or skip my workout!). Badger, A Crooked Staircase is worth the wait. (Do you see something eerie about the recent suicides in the news in light of the Jane Hawk series?) Happy reading, fellow bookworms!
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Finished At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen. I can't say that I loved it, and I so loved Water for Elephants. I think the book was recommended to me because we were planning a trip to Scotland, but of course I read it about a year after our trip! Just a little slow moving for me, and not a lot of interesting plot.
Also finished Wrinkle in Time, for me that falls under one of those books you finish even though you don't like it!
Next up is The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware - heard great things about this book, looking forward to it.
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pat01, I agree with you about A Wrinkle in Time 100%. Didn’t like it at all.
I am reading Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks (the actor). It’s good. I had no idea he writes.
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Finally got my hands on The Crooked Staircase and OMG so good! JKL you were right, it was worth the wait (and yes, evil elitists engaged in nanotechnology-based mind control on a mass scale is not outside the realm of possibility). Cliffhanger ending makes it hard to wait for book #4. I want it NOW LOL.
Also polished off the newest Spenser Little White Lies. Ace Atkins does Robert B. Parker proud.
Can also recommend The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. It's the true story of women who painted luminous dials for watches and military equipment. Great job until they fell sick from radium poisoning and their employers - who knew the risk - tried to shrug it off.
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Badger, the Radium Girls, who worked for Timexwhich was at one time based in Waterbury, Connecticut, where I currently live, have a road here named after them.
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In the back of my mind are the 12 books I need to read from the list of 100 best. Two weeks ago I was killing time at the downtown library before a City Council meeting and there was a huge shelf of books for sale.
Picked up Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. What a great book about immigration - to America & England too for that matter. The story is alternately told by Ifemelu - who goes to America for college (although she already has some years of college back home) and Obinze - who goes to England after college but is undocumented so he gets deported. They thought in secondary school in Nigeria that they would never part. The defeats & triumphs of their lives apart, their longing for familiar things of home, and "a brilliant dissection of modern attitudes to race" are very well written. Highly recommend.
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I've just gotten back from a long car trip where I had lots of time to read, so here are a couple recommendations.
* Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. The novel is based on a real-life scandal involving a Memphis-based adoption organization which, for many years, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country.
* America's First Daugher by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. A historical novel about Thomas Jefferson's daughter, and only surviving child, Martha. It draws from thousands of letters and original sources so is pretty historically accurate and interesting.
*Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. It is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I laughed out loud, I cried, I was surprised, I was shocked. I loved it and highly recommend it!!!! (If you only read one of the three books I just listed, make it this one!).
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I'm reading the woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware - love this book - great summer read, finding it hard to put down - luckily I have a long car ride tomorrow going on vacation camping at Assateague MD.
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Just finished The Radio Girls about the early days of the BBC. A good read.
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I take mom to the library on Saturdays and always find something to borrow. Last week's reads were Glass Houses (2017) by Louise Penny, Force of Nature (2018) by Jane Harper, and Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War (2017) by Mary Roach. Enjoyed all three. The first two are twisty murder mysteries. Glass Houses is set in the remote Canadian village of Three Pines and features Chief Inspector Armand Gamache; Force of Nature is set in the remote Australian wilderness and features a corporate retreat gone wrong. Mary Roach is a favorite of mine (yours too, VR?) for her in-depth research on off-beat topics and pithy writing style.
This week, I picked up two Eleanor-themed books: Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady (2016) by Susan Quinn, about the extraordinary 30-year relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok, and Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine (2017) by Gail Honeyman, recommended by Ruth.
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Badger - I love Louise Penny so I'll look for Jane Harper. Also like anything by Mary Roach.
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I loved Glass Houses - my wonderful LE massage therapist met Louise Penny at a mystery writers convention & said that she was very accessible & talks about her characters like they are her close friends. And Badger, I just finished Eleanor and Hick & really enjoyed it. I completed Two Girls Down & started the Flight Attendant while flying to CO on vacation & they were both gripping! There are a lot of good books to read right now!!!
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Reading The Martian by Andrew Weir. I am sorry to say, but the book is much worse then the movie, and that almost never happens! Just a bunch of technical details spiced up by corny jokes and 70’s references. Whoever thought it will make a great movie deserves an Oscar just for this insight.
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badger...yes! Roach is one of my favorites. Will have to read her latest....
Just finished reading, Why Things Break by Mark Eberhart. Not that easy to understand, (Roach is less taxing on the brain) and definitely gives TMI about himself, but gives an excellent understanding about how things....break. Already understood how the Challenger exploded, but I have always had this natural desire to understand the mechanics of how things break. While my youngest was at college studying engineering, he had me read his research papers. While I didn't understand most of what he was writing about (aerospace and nuclear), I did pick up some understanding why things CAN fail. Awhile ago, I recommended a similar book, To Engineer is Human, by Henry Petroski. Both books I highly recommend.
Also, for EleanorRoosevelt fans, What She Ate by Laura Shapiro. She picked a few famous women, including Eleanor.
and told us about their relationship with food and its historical significance. Very interesting angle to read about. I knew bits and pieces about some of the people and their relationships with food such as Eva Braun, but the perspective is interesting, it gave me thought about how my relationship with food will be remembered by the people closest to me...
Presently reading The Secret Life of the Mind....How Your Brain Thinks, Feels, and Decides. Each chapter is very easy to understand and gives you a window to gaze through to try to understand the study of the brain. Is the brain not the last frontier?
Which leads me to The Martian. Both the DH and younger son read the book and loved it because of its technical descriptions. Not a lover of sci-fi, I did sit through the movie and surprised myself by sitting through it...and loving it....go figure!
And while it has been some time since I read about The Siamese Twins ( I did read a paperback about them many decades ago), I have a new book about them, Inseparable, The Original Siamese Twins and their Rendezvous with American History, by Yunte Huang. Hopefully I will be getting to it shortly....
Happy Summer Reading fellow book lovers! Don't forget the suncreen while reading outdoors! Remember to take a break and reapply the sunscreen! We all know how time flies while reading a page turner! 
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Almost done reading 'News of the World' by Paulette Jiles, and going to do some beach landscaping at my sis in law's beach house in Ventura tomorrow, through Wednesday to help her get ready for a street party there at the end of the month. Already went through her books with her there, fun. Got a few, including one on Eleanor (not those two mentioned above, although I must read them, too!) .
Already did some other work there for her a few weeks ago~ she lets me & my man spend days there sometimes, and I always find new books there. She is a great reader with similar tastes to mine. I just down loaded to my kindle and am racing through it, 'The Flower Killing Moon' about the Osage Murders in the Oklahoma oil fields. Fascinating and sorrowful.
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Thoroughly enjoying Jane Austen’s very witty ”Emma”
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Went to the beach for a week and read three books. I got them on a whim, but thoroughly enjoyed them all.
Red Queen is book one of a series. I need to get the other 3, but I don’t have any money left on my Kindle account! If you liked Hunger Games and Divergent series, you will like this one.
Dead Girl Running is another start to a series, but I don’t know if there is a particular order to them. It is a mystery with a strong female lead charact.
The last one was Girl In the Ice. It’s an English mystery that I had a bit of an issue with because I wasn’t familiar with the words and spellings sometimes but I worked it out. It is a murder mystery that starts with someone finding a dead girl frozen in a boathouse.
I’m now trying to finish Willa of the Woods so I can post my reviews. I forgot it at home so I am just getting back to it.
Happy Reading
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