The more I think about it, the more I hated When We Were Bright and Beautiful. I can do dark themes or controversial topics (I really liked All The Ugly & Wonderful Things, for example), but this ALSO had poorly written characters and jumbled storylines.
Then I read Just Like Home which I guess is horror, but was again, just fucking weird.
I’m hoping to break this streak of bad reads with The Arsonists’ City.
I finished The Last Mrs. Parrish last night and it was good. It kept me engaged but was pretty dark at times and was very far fetched but that doesn't bother me. TW, there's a lot of emotional and sexual abuse in this book.
I started The Golden Couple last night. So far so good!
Post by rupertpenny on Aug 17, 2022 20:20:26 GMT -5
I finished The Unsinkable Greta James and it was fine. They portrayal of the life of a history professor was very weird to me, but it was cute.
I just finished The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka and it was honestly unlike anything I’ve ever read. It was a pretty quick read and I really liked it, but it was mostly written in the second person and there was no dialogue and not much of a plot.
I’m now reading The Lola Quartet and am continually amazed by Emily St. John Mandel’s attention to detail.
I finished The Measure and really liked it, though it took a large suspension of disbelief to just accept that everyone on planet earth (age 22 and over) somehow received a box and string on the same day.
I finished The Unsinkable Greta James and it was fine. They portrayal of the life of a history professor was very weird to me, but it was cute.
I just finished The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka and it was honestly unlike anything I’ve ever read. It was a pretty quick read and I really liked it, but it was mostly written in the second person and there was no dialogue and not much of a plot.
I’m now reading The Lola Quartet and am continually amazed by Emily St. John Mandel’s attention to detail.
I only listen to Julie Otsuka because of the plural narration!
I finished The Unsinkable Greta James and it was fine. They portrayal of the life of a history professor was very weird to me, but it was cute.
I just finished The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka and it was honestly unlike anything I’ve ever read. It was a pretty quick read and I really liked it, but it was mostly written in the second person and there was no dialogue and not much of a plot.
I’m now reading The Lola Quartet and am continually amazed by Emily St. John Mandel’s attention to detail.
I only listen to Julie Otsuka because of the plural narration!
Are all of her books this way? The older ones sound interesting but first person plural and second person sound way more annoying in historical fiction for some reason.
I finished The Measure and really liked it, though it took a large suspension of disbelief to just accept that everyone on planet earth (age 22 and over) somehow received a box and string on the same day.
(This is not a spoiler, as it is on page 1.)
More than they existence of the strings in general? Lol
I finished The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark. It was a good, decent...I guess the genre is thriller, but it wasn't dark or anything, really. There was just one, tiny detail that I wish had been resolved between the two main characters.
In my checked out pile I have:
The Very Nice Box - Laura Blackett Last Summer on State Street - Toya Wolfe Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting - Clare Pooley Mika in Real Life - Emiko Jean Girls They Write Songs About - Carlene Bauer The Good Left Undone - Adriana Trigiani Things We Do in the Dark - Jennifer Hillier
I think that's the order I'm going to read in. I try to pre-arrange my library books into order based on due date, ratings, how much I think I'll enjoy it, genre, and length. Usually in a pile that big I have at least one that I'll start and not be able to get into.
Finished Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin mentioned in a previous post - definitely one of my favorites of the year.
Also read recently -
The House Across the Lake - Riley Sagar - I usually speed through thrillers and have read a lot when I want something easy, and this one was not it. Every Summer After - Carley Fortune - Sweet romance, I really liked it but nothing special The Lies I Tell - Julie Clark - one of the better thrillers I've read this year This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub - I've decided I just don't love Straub, this is the third book I've read by her; without spoiling there's a sci-fi type element that I wasn't expecting and didn't love The Things We Cannot Say - Kelly Rimmer - loved this historical fiction!
A few holds have come through in the last 24 hours.
I am almost done with The Old Woman with the Knife. Should wrap that up tonight. I’ve enjoyed it. It’s not earth shattering, but definitely an enjoyable read.
On tap: Adult Assembly by Abbi Waxman Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (excited about this one) True Biz by Sara Novic
Please tell me what to read next! I have the littlest one in daycare, so I could feasible read two or three books next week!
Some of my favorites recently have been:
The Measure - Nikki Erlick - one day everyone on Earth receives a box with a string that says it shows how long your life will be.
The Prettiest Star - Carter Sickels - this was one of my re-reads and I loved it just as much the second time. About a young man in the 1980s with HIV who goes home to his rural small town
Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt - a widow befriends a giant octopus at an aquarium
I've been struggling to make time for reading lately 😩
Currently reading Siren Queen by Nghi Vo. I loved Empress of Salt and Fortune (same author), and I'm enjoying Siren Queen even more, but at only half an hour of reading a day it's going to take me a minute to finish it. Maybe I should try waking up earlier.
Next up is The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings. The summary makes me think I'll enjoy it 🙂
I am still reading Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. I haven't been spending a ton of time reading these last few weeks but I'm still surprised it's taking me like 3 weeks to get through! I might finish it today, I have less than an hour left according to my Kindle. I need to find a new audiobook but I'm not sure what it will be yet.
I finished the Time Traveler's Wife. I really enjoyed it for the most part. I thought it was a good story and well written, despite the fact that all the different points in time might have been confusing if it wasn't well written. I did have one frustration with it though- spoiler ahead.
**********
I did not find it romantic that poor Claire basically had to spend her whole child and young adulthood waiting for Henry, and then instead of telling her to go on and find love and be happy after he was gone, he told her that she'd see him again when she was old. I guess it's possible that she did move on in the interim, but it wasn't specified and it was kind of implied that he was still who she thought of as her husband, despite spending less than 15 of her 82 years actually in a relationship with him. It just seems selfish of him and like a waste of her life.
wildrice - omg I love Prep so much. It's one of maybe the only books where I underlined sentences where it felt like the author was in my head.
I do think Henry deliberates a bit about whether or not to tell her he sees her in the future, but I agree that he probably should have just let it go instead of trying to give her comfort in the present. I have also read an interview with the author where she said that she didn't necessarily mean for their relationship to be aspirational or super romantic. It's kind of fucked up and they both just do their best with what they've been given by the universe.
TR yeah Prep is really good! I've liked several books by that author, and I think it was probably you who made me interested in her books, so thank you!
And that's good to know that TTW was not meant to be romantic - it makes more sense from that perspective, because it seemed more tragic than anything! But it was a good story and I'm glad I finally read it.
Post by RoxMonster on Aug 19, 2022 13:21:41 GMT -5
I just finished The Perfect Neighborhood by Liz Alterman and would give 3.5 stars. It was slow in parts IMO but overall I was curious about how it would end and finished it.
I have read so many books over the last six months. Really the only genre I read is suspense/thriller (no paranormal) and trying to figure out what I want to read next.
I'm almost halfway done with Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and it's fantastic! People keep calling it a book about video games but it's really about a male-female friendship that has no romantic undertones, which is hardly ever explored in literary fiction. I love the main characters, the video game design stuff is super interesting, and I'm really enjoying it on audio.
Please tell me what to read next! I have the littlest one in daycare, so I could feasible read two or three books next week!
Some of my favorites recently have been:
The Measure - Nikki Erlick - one day everyone on Earth receives a box with a string that says it shows how long your life will be.
The Prettiest Star - Carter Sickels - this was one of my re-reads and I loved it just as much the second time. About a young man in the 1980s with HIV who goes home to his rural small town
Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt - a widow befriends a giant octopus at an aquarium
Ok I have The Measure and Remarkably Bright Creatures on my library holds after reading the samples, thank you!
I’m now halfway through Pachinko, which I have no idea why I waited so long.
The Measure - Nikki Erlick - one day everyone on Earth receives a box with a string that says it shows how long your life will be.
The Prettiest Star - Carter Sickels - this was one of my re-reads and I loved it just as much the second time. About a young man in the 1980s with HIV who goes home to his rural small town
Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt - a widow befriends a giant octopus at an aquarium
Ok I have The Measure and Remarkably Bright Creatures on my library holds after reading the samples, thank you!
I’m now halfway through Pachinko, which I have no idea why I waited so long.
Pachinko was another one of my re-reads, I love it.
I finished Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe. It was really good, felt a little YA, but a good/hard look at the tearing down of public housing in Chicago in the 80s/90s as it follows 4 friends throughout a summer. It's short so a pretty quick read.
I started Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley. It's an easy, enjoyable read. I'm hoping to maybe finish that this evening while H cooks dinner.
I'm reading The Girl With The Louding Voice and I think it's great. I love the main character and what she goes through is heartbreaking. It better go right for her!
isabelrupertpenny what's a good book to read first by Emily St. John Mandel? With a Frederik Backman comparison I think I would lime her!