It's Friday! What are you reading? (5/5)

[ufcasey]

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

What books did you read this past week? What books are you currently reading? Thoughts on them?

QOTW:
Have any Cinco de Mayo plans?

[abs]

I'm reading ACOWAR of course!! I thought I would have plenty of time to read this week but haven't so I'm only 30% in. So far it's great though!

No Cinco de Mayo plans. I live in Texas so we eat Mexican food at least weekly anyways!

[doxies]

I am reading The Dry by Jane Harper and so far it is excellent.  I hope to maybe finish it this weekend.  After that, I'm going to read The Hate U Give.  

I don't have any fun Cinco de Mayo plans.  Maybe a margarita later?

[litskispeciality]

Happy Friday!

I tried reading "Anasi Boys" again. I just can't get into it. For the first time in a long time I'm going to give up and move on. I'm going to give "The Gunslinger" by Steven King, the first in the Dark Tower Series a try because I'm a sucker for movie adaptations. My husband loved the series so I'm hoping it's good.

QOTW: I don't usually do anything for Cinco de Mayo. I'm home alone tonight, but a Margarita sounds fabulous.

[sassypants]

I finished Big Little Lies and mostly enjoyed it. I figured out who would die but not who would kill that person. Gossipy women irritate me, especially gossipy moms, so many of the characters irked me to the nth degree. I've now gone back to The Witch of Lime Street: Seance Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World. It's slow, but getting more interesting. I didn't realize Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was into Spiritualism!

No specific plans. DH and I will eat out somewhere tonight before we do our errands, but probably not Mexican because all the "amateurs" will be out getting drunk and eating chips and salsa. We tend to buck the holiday if it is food related, anyhow. Maybe sushi instead.

[ufcasey]

Read last week
Anchor by Nicole Blanchard - romantic suspense; 2.5 stars; I liked the action, but wished the book was longer and the characters a little more developed. This was a freebie so can't complain too much.
Masques by Patricia Briggs - fantasy; 2.5 stars; Mercy Thompson this was NOT haha. But I'll give the sequel written 17 years later a go to see how much she managed to improve it.
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny - mystery; 4 stars; these characters are just so nice to read about. I don't even care about the murder mystery much haha

Currently reading
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah Maas - fantasy romance; only up to chapter 18 so far (my daughter's birthday was yesterday so I got zero reading done, good thing I love her more than this book haha)
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi - non-fiction; just started and it already seems so sad. Why do I keep reading these non-fiction books written by people who died? This is like my fourth one. I'm not sure what that says about me haha

QOTW
No plans - we did Mexican last night at Epcot for my daughter's birthday so today will be non-Mexican. Though I have to say the drink I had last night was AWESOME it had a bit of blended avocado in it which sounds maybe a little gross but it was soooo good.

[sassypants]

May 5, 2017 11:06:13 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Read last week
Anchor by Nicole Blanchard - romantic suspense; 2.5 stars; I liked the action, but wished the book was longer and the characters a little more developed. This was a freebie so can't complain too much.
Masques by Patricia Briggs - fantasy; 2.5 stars; Mercy Thompson this was NOT haha. But I'll give the sequel written 17 years later a go to see how much she managed to improve it.
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny - mystery; 4 stars; these characters are just so nice to read about. I don't even care about the murder mystery much haha

Currently reading
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah Maas - fantasy romance; only up to chapter 18 so far (my daughter's birthday was yesterday so I got zero reading done, good thing I love her more than this book haha)
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi - non-fiction; just started and it already seems so sad. Why do I keep reading these non-fiction books written by people who died? This is like my fourth one. I'm not sure what that says about me haha

QOTW
No plans - we did Mexican last night at Epcot for my daughter's birthday so today will be non-Mexican. Though I have to say the drink I had last night was AWESOME it had a bit of blended avocado in it which sounds maybe a little gross but it was soooo good.

Mexico was always my favorite of the Epcot countries. I loved the river and the fact that it was perpetually twilight in there. Twilight is my favorite time of day.

[MrsAxilla]

May 5, 2017 9:40:28 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Happy Friday!

I tried reading "Anasi Boys" again. I just can't get into it. For the first time in a long time I'm going to give up and move on. I'm going to give "The Gunslinger" by Steven King, the first in the Dark Tower Series a try because I'm a sucker for movie adaptations. My husband loved the series so I'm hoping it's good.

QOTW: I don't usually do anything for Cinco de Mayo. I'm home alone tonight, but a Margarita sounds fabulous.

The Gunslinger is a bit slow.  It's not my favorite, but the rest of the series is SO GOOD!  Luckily the Gunslinger is pretty short, so power through!

[sarahsays]

I'm rereading ACOWAR. Next week is finals week so pleasure reading has been limited extremely.

QOTW: I have to work tonight, but I might see if my coworkers want to order in Mexican food.

[MrsAxilla]

ACOWAR, duh! 

[litskispeciality]

May 5, 2017 11:44:20 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

May 5, 2017 9:40:28 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Happy Friday!

I tried reading "Anasi Boys" again. I just can't get into it. For the first time in a long time I'm going to give up and move on. I'm going to give "The Gunslinger" by Steven King, the first in the Dark Tower Series a try because I'm a sucker for movie adaptations. My husband loved the series so I'm hoping it's good.

QOTW: I don't usually do anything for Cinco de Mayo. I'm home alone tonight, but a Margarita sounds fabulous.

The Gunslinger is a bit slow.  It's not my favorite, but the rest of the series is SO GOOD!  Luckily the Gunslinger is pretty short, so power through!

I think that's part of my delay in reading this. The books get so long as you go on I'll never finish. But one book at a time right. And worst case if I don't like it, I like Matthew McConaughey so I can handle that for 2 hours.

Back to ACOWAR, asking for a friend who's living under a rock, is this the first one? Can you jump into that right away or do you need to read something before this one?

[tacokick]

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer lol. Gearing up for the new Twin Peaks season.

No special plans tonight!

[ally]

I am halfway through Still Life by Louise Penny. The days are just flying by, leaving little time for my nightly reads.

QOTW: I just had a quesadilla lunch with coworkers, which was nice.  Tomorrow we will have margaritas and Mexican with friends.

[ufcasey]

May 5, 2017 11:48:10 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Back to ACOWAR, asking for a friend who's living under a rock, is this the first one? Can you jump into that right away or do you need to read something before this one?

The first one is "A Court of Thorns and Roses", and unfortunately you do have to read them in order. The first book is only ok in my opinion. The second book is a million times better. I'm only a quarter of the way through the third book (ACOWAR).

[monkeyfeet]

I'm finishing up Vanishing Act and really enjoying it!

We're having tacos at home tonight, but they're a weekly staple in our menu!

[travella]

I am still reading A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny. I'm enjoying it, but I've loved all Chief Inspector Gamache books.

QOTW: For dinner I'm making grilled carne asada tacos, cilantro lime rice, and chips and salsa for dinner.

[sarahsays]

May 5, 2017 12:41:11 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

May 5, 2017 11:48:10 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Back to ACOWAR, asking for a friend who's living under a rock, is this the first one? Can you jump into that right away or do you need to read something before this one?

The first one is "A Court of Thorns and Roses", and unfortunately you do have to read them in order. The first book is only ok in my opinion. The second book is a million times better. I'm only a quarter of the way through the third book (ACOWAR).

I agree with this assessment. If you aren't a huge fan of the first book, stick it out in order to get to the second one, litskispeciality.

[rootbeerfloat]

I read the first two Mercy Thompson books this week. They are fun... not as much sex (yet?) as the Sookie books, but I'm enjoying the characters.

(I'm waiting for my library to get ACOWAR, so I'll catch up with the rest of you in a few weeks lol.)

[brewco]

I read The Woman in Cabin 10, which was just ok. Finished Thirteen Reasons Why last night. Also, just ok. Starting a re-read of The Handmaid's Tale tonight and just downloaded The Night Circus to start too.

QOTW: no cinco plans. We had taco bell at work and virgin margaritas lol

[snshne322]

May 5, 2017 9:40:28 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Happy Friday!

I tried reading "Anasi Boys" again. I just can't get into it. For the first time in a long time I'm going to give up and move on. I'm going to give "The Gunslinger" by Steven King, the first in the Dark Tower Series a try because I'm a sucker for movie adaptations. My husband loved the series so I'm hoping it's good.

QOTW: I don't usually do anything for Cinco de Mayo. I'm home alone tonight, but a Margarita sounds fabulous.

I've tried both American Gods and Anansi Boys and I can't finish either of them.

[snshne322]

May 5, 2017 14:26:57 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

I read the first two Mercy Thompson books this week. They are fun... not as much sex (yet?) as the Sookie books, but I'm enjoying the characters.

(I'm waiting for my library to get ACOWAR, so I'll catch up with the rest of you in a few weeks lol.)

Squee! More Mercy Thompson readers!  Sex isn't strong in these books, but the relationships are so so great.

[litskispeciality]

May 5, 2017 15:26:54 GMT -5 snshne322 said:

May 5, 2017 9:40:28 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Happy Friday!

I tried reading "Anasi Boys" again. I just can't get into it. For the first time in a long time I'm going to give up and move on. I'm going to give "The Gunslinger" by Steven King, the first in the Dark Tower Series a try because I'm a sucker for movie adaptations. My husband loved the series so I'm hoping it's good.

QOTW: I don't usually do anything for Cinco de Mayo. I'm home alone tonight, but a Margarita sounds fabulous.

I've tried both American Gods and Anansi Boys and I can't finish either of them.

Now I feel better. I guess I'm not a big sci-fi (?) fan. I just haaate giving up on books because you invested time to get 50% through. I could always take it out again if I get the urge. 

[snshne322]

I'm reading ACOWAR. I'm surprised that I'm reading it as slowly as I am. Which is not that slow at about 200 pages in, but slower that I expected. I really, really enjoying it.

I'm listening to the Claire Danes read version of The Handmaids Tale. Is it a story that slowly gets more and more revealed and makes sense in the end? I'm about halfway through and some things are happening, but I want more background.

I finished The Hate U Give this week and it was excellent.

[snshne322]

May 5, 2017 15:30:13 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

May 5, 2017 15:26:54 GMT -5 snshne322 said:

I've tried both American Gods and Anansi Boys and I can't finish either of them.

Now I feel better. I guess I'm not a big sci-fi (?) fan. I just haaate giving up on books because you invested time to get 50% through. I could always take it out again if I get the urge. 

I love Sci Fi and Fantasy and I still can't do it.  It's been a few years since I've tried, but I remember feeling like I spent half the time with my head cocked to the side going, huh?

[charlatti]

I finished Setting Free the Kites this week, which was really lovely. Now I'm having trouble settling in to anything, so I started a reread of Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead and I'm also sort of reading Octavia Butler's Parable of the Talents.

Qotw: nope, no plans, though a margarita sounds awesome.

[Nonny]

I finished The Raven Boys, it was OK, but it felt incomplete because one of the main plot points seems to continue through to the next books, which I wasn't expecting and wasn't set up very well to do that.

I'm about 40% of the way through All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, it's reminding me a lot of Lolita, but so far Kellen is less creepy than Humbert Humbert, and Wavy is more tragic than Dolores. I'm interested to go back and see the book club discussion of this one that you all did in January.

QOTW:  No Cinco de Mayo plans.  We're going out with friends tonight, but we go out with friends every Friday night, so that's just our regular routine.

[mrspez07]

I'm reading The Bone Season, and while totally not my type of book I haven't given up on it, it's interesting enough to keep reading.
I also started a re-read of An echo in the Bone, though I totally stall out when the detailed military scenes are up.

It's Cinco de Dog-o here in our house. We don't know the day our dog Harvey was born so we picked today to be his birthday. He's 10 today and dog ice cream and chewing sticks is on the agenda.

[MrsAxilla]

May 5, 2017 15:30:13 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

May 5, 2017 15:26:54 GMT -5 snshne322 said:

I've tried both American Gods and Anansi Boys and I can't finish either of them.

Now I feel better. I guess I'm not a big sci-fi (?) fan. I just haaate giving up on books because you invested time to get 50% through. I could always take it out again if I get the urge. 

Interesting.  I LOVED American Gods.  I liked the first episode of the series, too.  I had Anansi Boys on my wishlist for a long time and it popped up on the kindle daily deal.  I'll probably read it after ACOWAR.  I'll let you know what I think!  

[dorothyinAus]

I finished Arsenic for Tea which was really good.  It's a middle-grade mystery series set between the wars in & around a boarding school in England.  It's great fun and not too scary to read late at night.  I posted on Twitter that I really enjoyed it and the author responded, so that was nice.  After that, I began Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue, but haven't gotten very far with it.

QOTW:  Had anyone shown up to my ESL cooking class, I had planned a lesson on Tex-Mex: Cheese Enchiladas with Chili Gravy and roasted tomato salsa, but no one came, so those ingredients will go toward other meals.  The ESL cooking class has strict requirements for the dishes: they need to serve at least 6, be compliant with several religious dietary codes, and the ingredients have to cost no more than $20 (the only things available in the kitchen are salt, water, milk, and cooking spray, so I have to buy basically everything for the $20) so I couldn't do anything like fajitas, and it's a state-owned campus, so no liquor, which means no margaritas.  Other than that, it was a regular Friday here, it finished up with tap class and then home to dinner cooked by DH (noodle soup & garlic bread).

[alleinesein]

I received an ARC last week in exchange for a book review- Crewe Chase and the Jet Reapers. I read it in one sitting and it is okay. I will probably read the second book when it comes out and I hope it gets better.

I'm reading some random fantasy anthology right now. I've been picking them up on B&N and Amazon whenever I find a free one.