I am reading The Golden Couple. So far it is fine.
Beatriz Williams has a new historical fiction that I want to read as I have really enjoyed all of her books. The new one is called The Beach At Summerly.
I just read The Beach at Summerly and really liked it. I don't read too many of her books, but like how some people/places return from past books.
YES! I hated the last 25% of this book. I just kept thinking- I hope Wyn can sell a lot of those $15k tables to pay off her loans. Whyyy wouldn't she transfer to a program near him and do general practice or whatever!?!? Pottery ain't payin' those loans. This was my least favorite of her books.
YES! I hated the last 25% of this book. I just kept thinking- I hope Wyn can sell a lot of those $15k tables to pay off her loans. Whyyy wouldn't she transfer to a program near him and do general practice or whatever!?!? Pottery ain't payin' those loans. This was my least favorite of her books.
I also think this was one of those dumb romances where the central conflict between the couple would have been avoided if they actually spoke to each other!!
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose. Both were mediocre at best.
I Have Some Questions for You was a DNF for me. I heard such good things but was just so not into it.
I just finished I Have Some Questions for You and struggled to get through it and care about any of it. I found it in my neighborhood little library when I was adding some kid books and felt lucky because I never see new books in there, but I have a feeling that the person who added it didn’t care for it either.
Post by litskispeciality on Jul 10, 2023 10:04:37 GMT -5
@cleo92 I'm 80% through The Golden Couple and I can't wait to finish. It's finally coming together...I think? but like what's the point here folks? Hoping to finish tonight as I'm ready for a new read.
Going to go through this thread. I've been reading not so great books and it's not helping get out of my slump. Y'all have great recs, but they often have long holds.
I’m reading The Great Unexpected by Dan Mooney which reminds me of A Man Called Ove. It’s delightful.
I just started listening to True Biz by Sara Novic and so far so good. It’s YA about deaf culture.
Thanks for posting about The Great Unexpected. I just finished. I really enjoyed it even though I thought I think the pacing could have been better. 4 stars!
I Have Some Questions for You was a DNF for me. I heard such good things but was just so not into it.
I just finished I Have Some Questions for You and struggled to get through it and care about any of it. I found it in my neighborhood little library when I was adding some kid books and felt lucky because I never see new books in there, but I have a feeling that the person who added it didn’t care for it either.
Yeah I forced myself to finish it and I don’t know why. I did not enjoy any of it.
I started The Woman in Cabin 10 yesterday; it's ok. I have low expectations because I got it from a yardsale for $1.
I also started Dead 11. It's not my typical read, but it takes place in a popular vacation spot nearby (Door County) and is written by an acquaintance, so I thought I'd give it a go.
Also, I just finished Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I enjoyed it. I don't think my 11 year old is mature enough to read it just yet.
I was going to do my re-reads this month like last year since it's my birthday month and I re-read one and then I realized I wasn't as into that idea this year. So instead of holding myself to trying to make some tradition out of it, I'm just letting myself continue on with my library hold list.
Post by gerberdaisy on Jul 10, 2023 13:25:35 GMT -5
Just finished The Wishing Game and highly recommend. Its about a reclusive children's book author that invites four (now adult) readers to his island for a chance to win a book. Very willy wonka like and was a moving sweet story.
Post by RoxMonster on Jul 11, 2023 12:11:50 GMT -5
Finished The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark and give it 4.25 stars. I really did like it, but I liked her book The Last Flight more. It was more suspenseful. Still a very good read.
Now I’m reading a Kindle Unlimited book I randomly saw called The Night Out. Not far enough in yet for a verdict.
I was going to do my re-reads this month like last year since it's my birthday month and I re-read one and then I realized I wasn't as into that idea this year. So instead of holding myself to trying to make some tradition out of it, I'm just letting myself continue on with my library hold list.
Do you mind sharing some titles that were on your re-read list?
I was going to do my re-reads this month like last year since it's my birthday month and I re-read one and then I realized I wasn't as into that idea this year. So instead of holding myself to trying to make some tradition out of it, I'm just letting myself continue on with my library hold list.
Do you mind sharing some titles that were on your re-read list?
Last year's were:
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
This year I re-read Under the Whispering Door and had planned to also do Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld and A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown, but hadn't decided on the rest. Maybe The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin and The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst. I may do, like, one re-read per month or something.
I just read Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. It's set during WWII (my genre of choice) but it was really unrealistic and terrible. I was shocked to learn this woman had won a Pulitzer for a book called A Visit from the Goon Squad, which people on Goodreads seem to adore, so I'm perplexed by where this one came from. Just rubbish.
I really liked her books in high school/college but haven’t liked anything in the past decade or more. I don’t know if they’ve changed or if I was more forgiving back then.
Post by estrellita on Jul 11, 2023 18:44:39 GMT -5
I've been working on the Throne of Glass series. I finished ACOTAR already and plan to start Crescent City after I'm done with TOG. Still deciding if I want to binge these all at once or take some breaks for my ever growing TBR!
Post by litskispeciality on Jul 12, 2023 8:12:48 GMT -5
I finished The Golden Couple last night and I'm kind of mad. I need to stop reading that/those authors because I always feel like the end is rushed and I wonder if I missed something.
I picked up "The Night the Lights Went Out", but I only got a few pages in before I fell asleep. Hoping it's good because I've got to get some books on my list.
*I've found listening to audio when I can, esp at night is helping me read more, and helping me fall asleep. Of course the new book I just picked up doesn't have Audio on my library app.
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose. Both were mediocre at best.
I Have Some Questions for You was a DNF for me. I heard such good things but was just so not into it.
You all set my expectations very low for this one, but I ended up liking it! Some parts were trying a little too hard and it's not like it was the best book ever - but I thought it was a decent story. I didn't love it as much as The Great Believers, but I liked it enough that I will probably read her next book.
I finished The Golden Couple last night and I'm kind of mad. I need to stop reading that/those authors because I always feel like the end is rushed and I wonder if I missed something.
This is how I felt, too. I loved it and thought it would be a 5* read, but only gave it 4 because of the end. Very rushed, and predictable.
I looked up the author sometime last week and I discovered that she's also a poet, which to me kind of explains why it feels overwritten and too flowery. According to my kindle I only have about an hour of reading left at this point, so I'm powering through. I have to know if they win state, or if it's an absolute epic disaster. LOL!
My book club just read On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong and same complaint. It was actually painful, with interesting topics briefly mentioned but ignored in place of flowery, ridiculous diatribes.
I've convinced us to read Jaws as our July "beach read" and OMG it is so good. It's my third time reading it and it's just fantastic! Quite different from the movie. Highly recommend.
I just read Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. It's set during WWII (my genre of choice) but it was really unrealistic and terrible. I was shocked to learn this woman had won a Pulitzer for a book called A Visit from the Goon Squad, which people on Goodreads seem to adore, so I'm perplexed by where this one came from. Just rubbish.
A Visit from the Goon Squad was fine, but I remember reading it fairly close to when I read Cloud Atlas. It was a similar plot device, with interconnected stories, but Cloud Atlas was better, IMO.
Finished You’d Be Home Now. Really did not enjoy this and at one point it’s implied that you shouldn’t give kids medication for mental health or learning disorders because it trains the brain not to have to work out those issues without support and that was a huge turnoff.
Starting The Storied Life of AJ Fikry. Same author as Tomorrow x3, which I enjoyed so hopefully this is good too.
Do you follow him on SM? He has cancer and is vlogging through the treatment in his typical funny but super smart way.
Hank Green went super viral two days ago for his algo-speak and not being censored. The reactions to his privilege are worth the watch (I posted on CEP).
The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews - a “thriller” I picked up at an airport shop. BORING. predictable but mostly so boring, especially the last half.
All the Light We Cannot See - really good. I read Cloud Cuckoo Land last month and I’m going to add more of his books to my list.
A Closed and Common Orbit - I enjoyed the first two books of the Wayfarers series, but whew, this one was dull. It had too many different characters it followed around while they did basically nothing (but in space).
What The Fireflies Knew - coming of age story for a young black girl in Michigan (TW for sexual assault). sweet, sad, and well written though the ending was a bit tidy and rushed.