It's Friday! What are you reading? (3/31)

[ufcasey]

What books did you read this past week? What books are you currently reading? How do you feel about them?

QOTW:
Besides reading, do you have any other hobbies or interests?

[susiebw]

I'm reading The Romanov Sisters, and loving it. I said this last week, but I have only the most basic understanding of that period of Russian history, so I love how much I'm learning.

I'm also reading the Story of O, which is like, somewhere between smut and a snuff film. It's troubling and the whole time I'm reading it, I'm torn between some morbid fascination and setting it aside because it makes me uncomfortable. But it's a quick read and I'm already half way through. I know it's going to get worse and never get better in terms of how uncomfortable and troubling it is, but I don't think I can set it aside, either.

I just started listening to Luckiest Girl Alive in the car, and so far I really like it.

QOTW: Does girls night count as a hobby or interest? If I have free time, I want to get together with my girlfriends and relax and laugh and have fun.

[snshne322]

I *almost* finished The Passage this week. My loan expired mid sentence with 47 minutes left.    I marked it as read. #sorrynotsorry

By the end of today I will have finished # 3 and 4 of the Charley Davidson series on audio.  Light, fluffy, fun. I'm going right into book 5.

I finished Highlander Untamed last night and it was a snoozefest.  I started Neanderthal Seeks Human last night.  It was recommended and the writing style had me hooked right away.


QOTW: I really, really love to bake.  I don't do it enough.  DH has the most bland taste in desserts (chocolate chip cookies, vanilla cupcakes, brownies, etc.) All delicious, but not adventurous.  Adding to that, my son has an egg allergy.  He can eat baked eggs, but it limits custards, tarts, sometimes cheesecakes.  So, alas, I don't bake a ton any more.  I do it more for holidays when I know other people will try things.

[Wallflower]

I finished Power Game (Christine Feehan, OK but the series is getting a little tired) and read Where All the Girls have Gone (Jayne Ann Krentz, not bad but not my favorite of hers). Those were library books, so I'll be getting back to The Unquiet Dead (Ausma Zehanat Khan, good). Mostly, I'm juggling cat introduction stress, so I'm seeing my reading drop a bit.

QOTW: Amateur photographer here, though I don't get out and shoot as much as I should.

[travella]

I have about 100 pages left in The Romanov Sisters. It's not a fast read, especially with all the Russian terms, names, and my lack of knowledge about Russia during this time period, but it's a good book.

Qotw: I exercise and scrapbook. I like baking too, but I don't like having such yummy temptations around the house since I'm the only one in our house with a sweet tooth.

[minzy]

I finished Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi this week.  I liked the way it wove through many generations, though I did have trouble keeping everyone straight and had to keep checking the family tree at the beginning.  I just started All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda.  I like that there are lots of little breaks; it makes it easier to pick up if I only have a few minutes.  I'll check out the thread on that once I'm done.

My hobbies are working out, volunteering, and travel (though I don't do as much of that right now with little kids).

[rainbowchip]

I'm currently reading The Passage. It is so good! It's one that I think about all the time when I should be thinking about other things.

QOTW: TV is my other hobby. I watch entirely too much TV.
I also really enjoy planning trips but finances don't allow me to do that as often as I would like.

[MrsAxilla]

I finished Under Different Stars earlier this week. It popped up on kindle daily deal and was very highly rated, so I gave it a shot. I liked it, even though it reminded me of A Court of Thorns and Roses, only not as awesome. I'm reading The Romanov Sisters now.

[ufcasey]

This is my second busy work week of the year, so again not much reading got done. The good news is that I will be done with all of this nonsense on Saturday so there is a light at the end of the work tunnel.

Read this week
A Scot in the Dark by Sarah MacLean - historical romance; 1 star; Terrible! Way too much "I'm not really attracted to him/her" and then "I'm not worthy of marrying him/her". And hello, if someone threatened to reveal a nude portrait of yourself, that was supposed to remain private, and make it public - wouldn't the VERY FIRST thing you'd do would be try to find the painting and destroy it? It took way too long for that bright idea to enter anyone's head. Ridiculous.
Still Life by Louise Penny - mystery; 3.5 stars; I really enjoyed this! The character of Nichol was a bit ridiculously obtuse but this was a refreshing change of pace to read a 'clean' murder mystery (no graphic violence, no terrible past for the detective, no romance entanglements because he's happily married, etc.) and set in modern times. I'll definitely keep reading on with this series.

Currently reading
The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport - non-fiction; I am 50% through it and the parts all leading up to and including the introduction of Rasputin I found to be really, really interesting (granted, I had minimal knowledge beforehand other than the basics). After that point though it has started to get a little slow, but I still have half a book to read so it could definitely pick back up. Especially since I know what's coming. Also, I'm doing the audiobook because I figured that would be easier with all the Russian names/places, and I think that was a good call.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - YA/fantasy; OMG WHY HAVE I WAITED SO LONG TO READ THIS??! It's sooooo good! Much better than her Grisha series (even though both are set in the same world). But is it just me or are these characters not coming across as teenagers? Not that I mind! Just saying, they seem older. Also, so far this seems quite a bit similar to another book I have read and loved, The Lies of Locke Lamora, so I'd recommend that book if you already read this one and enjoyed it.

QOTW
Photography. I have a full frame dSLR and take photos for my family and friends (for free) and edit them etc. I don't have as much time to do it as I would like with two kids and a full time job. The first kid definitely got a LOT more photos haha! As for interests, I would say politics, though in order to keep my sanity I have had to step back from that a bit. I just feel a bit hopeless about all of it.

[CheeringCharm]

I read The Rules Do Not Apply By Ariel Levy, which gives one of the most powerful and articulate descriptions of the grief following the birth of a stillborn baby that I've ever read. It is very affecting.

www.amazon.com/Rules-Do-Not-Apply-Memoir/dp/0812996933

Right now I'm reading George & Author by Julian Barnes, which is fascinating. It's based on the true story of George Edalji, an English born man of Indian descent who was persecuted for years by his neighbors because of the color of his skin and later unjustly convicted of mutilating several farm animals based on extremely flimsy circumstantial evidence. He was sentenced to 7 years of penal labor, which was only overturned after a number of high profile people became involved in protesting the conviction, including Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It's really well written and interesting. I highly recommend it.

www.amazon.com/Arthur-George-Julian-Barnes/dp/1400097037/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490977607&sr=1-1&keywords=arthur+and+george

QOTW: I like to travel and take long walks.

[doxies]

Mar 31, 2017 10:57:59 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - YA/fantasy; OMG WHY HAVE I WAITED SO LONG TO READ THIS??! It's sooooo good! Much better than her Grisha series (even though both are set in the same world). But is it just me or are these characters not coming across as teenagers? Not that I mind! Just saying, they seem older. Also, so far this seems quite a bit similar to another book I have read and loved, The Lies of Locke Lamora, so I'd recommend that book if you already read this one and enjoyed it.

I did love this book and the sequel, so thanks for the recommendation.  I'm adding it to my list.  

I agree it was hard to remember that the characters were teenagers based on everything that they could do, but I decided that since it was fantasy, I would not spend too much time thinking about it.

[monkeyfeet]

Mar 31, 2017 11:30:15 GMT -5 CheeringCharm said:

I read The Rules Do Not Apply By Ariel Levy, which gives one of the most powerful and articulate descriptions of the grief following the birth of a stillborn baby that I've ever read. It is very affecting.

www.amazon.com/Rules-Do-Not-Apply-Memoir/dp/0812996933

Right now I'm reading George & Author by Julian Barnes, which is fascinating. It's based on the true story of George Edalji, an English born man of Indian descent who was persecuted for years by his neighbors because of the color of his skin and later unjustly convicted of mutilating several farm animals based on extremely flimsy circumstantial evidence. He was sentenced to 7 years of penal labor, which was only overturned after a number of high profile people became involved in protesting the conviction, including Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It's really well written and interesting. I highly recommend it.

www.amazon.com/Arthur-George-Julian-Barnes/dp/1400097037/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490977607&sr=1-1&keywords=arthur+and+george

QOTW: I like to travel and take long walks.

I'm sorry if you've suffered from losing a stillborn child. Would you recommend this for someone who lost a baby less than a year ago? Thanks!

[Wallflower]

Mar 31, 2017 11:30:15 GMT -5 CheeringCharm said:

I read The Rules Do Not Apply By Ariel Levy, which gives one of the most powerful and articulate descriptions of the grief following the birth of a stillborn baby that I've ever read. It is very affecting.

www.amazon.com/Rules-Do-Not-Apply-Memoir/dp/0812996933

Right now I'm reading George & Author by Julian Barnes, which is fascinating. It's based on the true story of George Edalji, an English born man of Indian descent who was persecuted for years by his neighbors because of the color of his skin and later unjustly convicted of mutilating several farm animals based on extremely flimsy circumstantial evidence. He was sentenced to 7 years of penal labor, which was only overturned after a number of high profile people became involved in protesting the conviction, including Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It's really well written and interesting. I highly recommend it.

www.amazon.com/Arthur-George-Julian-Barnes/dp/1400097037/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490977607&sr=1-1&keywords=arthur+and+george

QOTW: I like to travel and take long walks.

They made George & Arthur into a miniseries that aired on PBS a year or two ago - www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/episodes/arthur-and-george-s1-e1/. 

[monkeyfeet]

I finished The Lost Child this week and really liked it.

I'm currently reading The Romanov Sisters. I'm only 10% in so no real opinion yet. I'm also reading Lean In. I'm not quite sure why I picked this up as a SAHM and thought it might irritate me, but I have no qualms with it so far, 25%.

QOTW - I like to workout.

[CheeringCharm]

Mar 31, 2017 13:01:46 GMT -5 monkeyfeet said:

Mar 31, 2017 11:30:15 GMT -5 CheeringCharm said:

I read The Rules Do Not Apply By Ariel Levy, which gives one of the most powerful and articulate descriptions of the grief following the birth of a stillborn baby that I've ever read. It is very affecting.

www.amazon.com/Rules-Do-Not-Apply-Memoir/dp/0812996933

Right now I'm reading George & Author by Julian Barnes, which is fascinating. It's based on the true story of George Edalji, an English born man of Indian descent who was persecuted for years by his neighbors because of the color of his skin and later unjustly convicted of mutilating several farm animals based on extremely flimsy circumstantial evidence. He was sentenced to 7 years of penal labor, which was only overturned after a number of high profile people became involved in protesting the conviction, including Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It's really well written and interesting. I highly recommend it.

www.amazon.com/Arthur-George-Julian-Barnes/dp/1400097037/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490977607&sr=1-1&keywords=arthur+and+george

QOTW: I like to travel and take long walks.

I'm sorry if you've suffered from losing a stillborn child. Would you recommend this for someone who lost a baby less than a year ago? Thanks!

I havent. I'm not sure. The writing is very vivid and open.  That could be a good or bad thing, depending on how the person is doing.

[pandora89]

I finished The Trespasser by Tana French (#6 in the Dublin Murder series). I liked it overall but it dragged out a bit.

I started reading The Girl Before by Rena Olsen, it has really good reviews but I could just not get into it and stopped about 20% in. Currently reading While You Were Sleeping by Kathryn Croft. I started it last night and am about 50% through. It's a fast, easy read.

QOTW - My hobbies are working out (I used to do barre often), reading and baking.

[Nonny]

I am within 100 pages of the end of A Darker Place.  It's a very weird novel; the premise is interesting (professor undercover with a cult who is into alchemy), and the writing is OK, but the main character spends a lot of her time fretting about if she should be there or not, and how she should escape with the kids she wants to save, but I really feel like they could have cut a good 150 pages and not lost anything from the story. It's also really interesting at times, and super dull and boring at others.  I'm ready to be done with it and move on to other stuff. 

QOTW: I used to do karate, and I miss it terribly at times, but it was taking a toll on me and I had to quit (that was like, 10 years ago, but I still can't sell my old weapons). Now my H and I ride bikes, but we are fair weather cyclists, so we really only ride about 3-4 months out of the year since it rains so much here. I also write, but I'm incredibly lazy, so my book is languishing.

[cole]

I finished Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard - I liked the first book better this was a marked decline, but I'll probably still read the third to see what happens.

I'm currently read Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay and I'm really enjoying it!

My biggest other interest/hobby is athletics. I play soccer and run. I did my first mini indoor triathlon this January, and have my first sprint triathlon in a couple weeks!

[brewco]

It has been a REALLY slow reading week for me- I am reading Wild (Cheryl Strayed) and Pretty Girls (Karen Slaughter). I'm about half way through them both.

Hobbies: Camping (we renovated a travel trailer), craft beer & boston terriers! Soccer is also my favorite thing ever but too many knee surgeries have caused me to quit that.

[mrspez07]

I'm on vacation, so I searched out some smaller easy reads to bring with me. I just finished Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts and just started The Last Camillia by Sarah Joi. I started I am Malala before I left home, so I'll pick that up again. I've got that one and Romanov sisters for book clubs this month, so lots of reading to do!

I also quilt and like some gardening and house projects when I'm not doing kid-related activities.

[charlatti]

I'm close to the end of Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which is really, really good. I've stayed up late a few too many times this week because it's so engrossing.

QOTW: Yoga, knitting, and crocheting -- I don't do enough of any of them right now. I also really enjoy baking bread and trying different kinds.

[rootbeerfloat]

I'm plodding through The Romanov Sisters. I want to know their fate, but all the details are kind of boring me.

[charlatti]

Mar 31, 2017 10:57:59 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Still Life by Louise Penny - mystery; 3.5 stars; I really enjoyed this! The character of Nichol was a bit ridiculously obtuse but this was a refreshing change of pace to read a 'clean' murder mystery (no graphic violence, no terrible past for the detective, no romance entanglements because he's happily married, etc.) and set in modern times. I'll definitely keep reading on with this series.

I'm so glad you liked it! I'm excited for you to get through the first few to where she really gets into her character groove. The development over the series is just so good.

[sassypants]

I just finished listening to Life After Life today, and I really liked it. It was clever the way her life would start over and take different paths. When I was a kid I loved those choose your own adventure books, and I'd always read all the different endings after the initial read through so this was like a more sophisticated CYOA book. I also need a new audio book now.

I'm in the midst of The Little Stranger. It's interesting, but it started out pretty slow. Things are starting to happen now.

QOTW: I do theatre and music performance. So far there are two theatre companies here that I do what shows I can get cast in (I'm in a bit of a dry spell right now), and after we move into the county there are a couple more theatres I plan to audition for that will be closer than they are now. Otherwise it's mostly Netflix binges.

[ally]

I am still reading We Two by Gillian Gill.  It is about Victoria and Albert and was recommended by my dad.  It is slow going.  I prefer novels, I know this, and yet I try to branch out.  I have debating picking up a novel, but also know that would be all I would read!

QOTW: exercise/yoga, baking/cooking, gardening in summer.  I also love to travel and planning out what we will do on a trip.

[spedrunner]

Mar 31, 2017 10:56:38 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

I'm currently reading The Passage. It is so good! It's one that I think about all the time when I should be thinking about other things.

QOTW: TV is my other hobby. I watch entirely too much TV.
I also really enjoy planning trips but finances don't allow me to do that as often as I would like.

I need a book like this in my life!

[spedrunner]

This week I finished The Woman in Cabin 10, which although a bit "Cheesy" I really enjoyed it!! Easy read!


I am currently prodding through Esperanza Rising with my students and reading my first Tana French, The Secret Place, which I am really into and enjoying!

I am writing progress reports and IEPs this weekend, so will be rewarding myself with a new library pick and a glass of wine tonight

QOTD:  walking, hiking, biking, yoga, traveling and browsing little shops/bookstores are a few of my hobbies

[dorothyinAus]

Late to the party, but this week I finished A Mystery at Carlton House and began Sidney Chambers and the Forgiveness of Sins.  We also finished Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH during our weekly storytime.  It was just as good as I remembered -- it's been 26 years since I read it and I was pleased that it held up as a book and that my husband enjoyed it.  There were bits that I did not remember, but it was fun to rediscover the story.  Now I have to figure out what to read aloud next; it's between Winnie-the-Pooh and A Confederacy of Dunces.

QOTW:  When not reading, I enjoy cooking. I'm a peasant cook at heart, soups, stews, casseroles, and things with very basic ingredients that turn out to be much better than you think just reading the recipe.  I'm also doing a project of making felt embroidery Christmas stockings for my cousins & godchildren.  My grandmother made a stocking for each new member of the family and she taught me to do the embroidery so I thought it would be great to continue the tradition and I enjoy the connection to her as I am making the stockings.  And I love cruising, but I prefer unusual itineraries -- Canada/New England & the Baltic have been my favorites so far, and I do the Canada/New England route as often as possible.

[anglashly]

Pretty Girls- Karin Slaughter I am intrigued and enjoying it. It is the first book to catch me in a while. I have been starting and not finishing a lot in the last couple weeks.

I have Panic-Lauren Oliver going on my Kindle. It is ok, but I am not far in.

QOTW: No other real hobbies unless you count watching tv