It's Friday! (5/7)

[ufcasey]

How is your week going? Read anything good?

QOTW:
If you can think of one - have you read a book where the premise was good, but the book itself was not that great and you wish someone else had written it? If so, what was the premise/book title/author if you remember it? If you can't think of one - have you ever seen a movie or tv show that you wish was a book instead (so you could 'hear' the characters thoughts perhaps)?

[meowmaps]

I read The Survivors. Jane Harper has written better but I still enjoyed the mystery.

Now I’m reading the latest Veronica Speedwell. It’s fine but I think the novelty/charm is wearing off. Time to wrap it up!

QOTW: My brain isn’t working at full capacity. I’ll have to think on this later. ETA: I read The Wife Upstairs recently and it definitely could’ve been executed in a more clever way with deeper characters. It’s supposed to pay homage to Jane Eyre but it really fell short for me. Jane in this version is not at all a person to emulate.

[travella]

The Four Winds - DNF
I'm currently reading Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

QOTW: I know I've had this thought about a book or two in the past, but I cannot think of which books they are. I'll have to respond later if they come to mind.

* Good Morning, Midnight I had high hopes for that book. I think it could have been a great story if the author had been able to evoke more emotion.

[dontlook]

I read: Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper (5 stars) and One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London.

QOTW: maybe The Wrong Family. I read it but too long ago and it could have been a great book if it focused on one or two issues instead of the ten it throw out there. A better author could have narrowed the scope and delivered an interesting book.

[minzy]

I read Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal. It’s a pick for my IRL book club. It’s a novel with a backstory about someone who becomes a famous chef, eventually doing random pop up dinners, and there were a lot of recipes. I think it got a lot better as it went on.

[mrspez07]

I’ve been reading bits of Caste at a time, it needs to go back to the library, it’s a week overdue, so I wasn’t fully committed. I’ll get back on the waitlist.
I’ve been listening to Hench, entertaining so far.

QOTW: I was so disappointed and confused by 4321 a few years back. Interesting idea but so convoluted and extremely wordy in the execution of it.

[charlatti]

I’m reading What Comes After by Joanne Tompkins. Somewhat slow so far, but interesting enough that I’m willing to be patient.

QOTW: I loved the premise of The Heroines, where a mom and daughter run a hotel/support group for literary heroines, but I ended up hating the book (though I don’t remember why).

[Nonny]

I'm not quite half-way through Mexican Gothic, and I'm beta reading a middle grade book for a friend in my writing group.

QOTW: 
I would basically like anyone other than Margaret Atwood to write her books, because I can't stand her writing style, but I think she has interesting ideas.

[Nonny]

May 7, 2021 19:38:29 GMT -5 minzy said:

I read Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal. It’s a pick for my IRL book club. It’s a novel with a backstory about someone who becomes a famous chef, eventually doing random pop up dinners, and there were a lot of recipes. I think it got a lot better as it went on.

I read that last year; I think someone on here recommended it to me.

I've been wanting to make the Pat Prager peanut butter bars for ages. I have everything to make them, but I keep getting distracted by other projects (sometimes cooking, sometimes not).

[minzy]

May 9, 2021 1:35:45 GMT -5 Nonny said:

May 7, 2021 19:38:29 GMT -5 minzy said:

I read Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal. It’s a pick for my IRL book club. It’s a novel with a backstory about someone who becomes a famous chef, eventually doing random pop up dinners, and there were a lot of recipes. I think it got a lot better as it went on.

I read that last year; I think someone on here recommended it to me.

I've been wanting to make the Pat Prager peanut butter bars for ages. I have everything to make them, but I keep getting distracted by other projects (sometimes cooking, sometimes not).

I’m a horrible cook, but if I make anything from that book, it will be some bars! I also thought the baker’s insight on her bars were some of the best written and most compelling parts of the whole book. There were many other directions in which the author could have gone when discussing that character (her relationship with her current husband or what was really happening with her drug dealing son) but the focus was all on her complicated emotions about her bars and whether they measured up in the community. (I guess we find that they do!)

[tacokick]

Super slow week! I had a lot of exhausting errands and issues to deal with.

The Lost by Claire McGowan

Imagine Wanting Only by This Kristen Radtke

The Dead Ground by Claire McGowan


QOTW:

I’ve thought this about a lot of books!

Recently I read The One by John Marrs and thought the concept of finding your soul mate via DNA test was really fun and could lead to a lot of interesting situations but both the book and the show were not great. I was mentally rewriting it the whole time.