Friday! Feb. 9 reading thread

[charlatti]

What have you been reading this week?

QOTW: What month or season feels longest to you, regardless of its actual length?

[tacokick]

Can you tell I haven’t been sleeping well?

What Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato

Good Material by Dolly Alderton (fun!)

The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan (disappointing)

Lovers and Liars by Amanda Eyre Ward (disappointing)

Ambition Monster: A Memoir Jennifer Romolini
(Eek!)

Liars by Sarah Manguso (sad)

What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

Things Don't Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins

The Haters by Robyn Harding

Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen (solid)

You Should Have Told Me by Leah Konen (solid)

QOTW:

Winter. I think because it is cold and everything is dead way beyond actual winter.

[travella]

I finished:

The Little Liar by Mitch Albom, 3* (It was ok. I wasn't as impressed with it as others seem to be)
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 1* (I just couldn't get into this book, it was too repetitive and not at all what I was expecting).

I'm currently reading The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff

QOTW: January, we go from a month of total chaos to absolutely nothing. Plus, if we are living in a cold climate then there isn't much to do outside the house either.

[charlatti]

I finished Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect, which was enjoyable but not amazing, and just started The Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka. Killer owls. Are they a metaphor? So far I have no idea.

QOTW: February always feels ridiculously long to me. Shortest month, pshaw.

[krystee]

I read Ruthless Vows (liked!), All That Is Mine I Carry With Me (didn’t understand why it was structured as a friend writing a novel and not just an account from the family members. It just added confusion, but it was a good story otherwise), and Grace of Wild Things (adorable middle grade that is Anne of Green Gables meets witches).

QOTW: Winter is eternal. Send help.

[Vespasia]

I read The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden. Interesting premise, terrible execution. Really fell flat on the haunted house vibes and the plot kind of sucked. The main characters were also insufferable and I could never tell if that was accidental or intentional.

QOTW: This is hard because it feels like time has been flying by the last few years. Normally I would say winter because it's so miserable but it was 60 here today and will be even warmer tomorrow!

[dearprudence]

Finished Longshadow which was good. Still reading A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting.

Started The Secret Service of Tea and Treason, the final book in the Dangerous Damsels series and so far I'm enjoying it just as much as the previous two.


QOTW: What month or season feels longest to you, regardless of its actual length? I don't notice any feeling especially long, but this January lasted a full year.

[dove]

I just finished Kristen Hannah’s new book “The Women”. I magically got one of the first copies at my library. I liked it ok. Quick read, engaging. But felt too “Lifetime movie-ish” for me.

QOTW: summer feels forever in the south

[estrellita]

Finished River Sing Me Home and it was pretty good. I feel like I wanted just a little more story at the end!

Working on House of Flame and Shadow and I'm about halfway through. This book is HUGE so it might take me a bit lol.

QOTW: Winter for sure. It usually lasts anywhere from October to April, sometimes even May. I just get sick of being so cold all time!

[sju]

Currently reading The Obsession by Nora Roberts.

QOTW: I’m in the south so most of the year feels like summer. 

[artichokie]

Feb 9, 2024 14:21:46 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Can you tell I haven’t been sleeping well?

What Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato

Good Material by Dolly Alderton (fun!)

The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan (disappointing)

Lovers and Liars by Amanda Eyre Ward (disappointing)

Ambition Monster: A Memoir Jennifer Romolini
(Eek!)

Liars by Sarah Manguso (sad)

What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

Things Don't Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins

The Haters by Robyn Harding

Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen (solid)

You Should Have Told Me by Leah Konen (solid)

QOTW:

Winter. I think because it is cold and everything is dead way beyond actual winter.

Jen Romolini’s Memior - tell me about your response! I love her! Is it any good??

[tacokick]

Feb 12, 2024 21:29:06 GMT -5 artichokie said:

Jen Romolini’s Memior - tell me about your response! I love her! Is it any good??

I really don’t know anything about her beyond the book so take that as you will.

Her husband/marriage sounds awful. She admits they are horrible with money and spend every penny that comes in and that was a lot of stress and mess. She never seems to actually like him. Her family of origin are dramatic and messy and she has poor boundaries with them.

She glosses over how for her child’s entire life people (teachers, doctors, friends) were telling her that her child needed help and her/her husband ignored them until they all were together for more than a few hours in a row when the kid was around 8 and they realized all these people were right and finally took the kid to a doctor.

I also felt like despite the title it was weirdly not about ambition but about her compulsion to work and make money at the exclusion of everything else in her life. She never seemed to actually enjoy her work or to want to do better which was odd. She bounced around from job to job moving up but in a way that made it sound like she wasn’t in control. Like she gets jobs from contacts or because she wants to move, not because she has any interest in them then she works there a billion hours a week and seems miserable the whole time.


The writing was solid and she seemed to be honest in her retellings which is a plus but the content was rough and not quite how they are promoting it imo

I had an ARC so possible they clean it up before publication but eek! The entire book was filled with stories I would never tell another living soul.

[artichokie]

Feb 13, 2024 0:40:41 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Feb 12, 2024 21:29:06 GMT -5 artichokie said:

Jen Romolini’s Memior - tell me about your response! I love her! Is it any good??

I really don’t know anything about her beyond the book so take that as you will.

Her husband/marriage sounds awful. She admits they are horrible with money and spend every penny that comes in and that was a lot of stress and mess. She never seems to actually like him. Her family of origin are dramatic and messy and she has poor boundaries with them.

She glosses over how for her child’s entire life people (teachers, doctors, friends) were telling her that her child needed help and her/her husband ignored them until they all were together for more than a few hours in a row when the kid was around 8 and they realized all these people were right and finally took the kid to a doctor.

I also felt like despite the title it was weirdly not about ambition but about her compulsion to work and make money at the exclusion of everything else in her life. She never seemed to actually enjoy her work or to want to do better which was odd. She bounced around from job to job moving up but in a way that made it sound like she wasn’t in control. Like she gets jobs from contacts or because she wants to move, not because she has any interest in them then she works there a billion hours a week and seems miserable the whole time.


The writing was solid and she seemed to be honest in her retellings which is a plus but the content was rough and not quite how they are promoting it imo

I had an ARC so possible they clean it up before publication but eek! The entire book was filled with stories I would never tell another living soul.

Oh man, I’m shocked…I think?? Romolini is smart, witty as hell. Have u listened to Everything is Fine podcast?

[CrazyLucky]

I finished Tom Lake, which I got based on a lot of recommendations here. I thought it was just ok.
I'm working on The Wager, also based on recommendations here. And also meh. I think the story is interesting and would have been good in a short story format, but there is detail overload to me, and that makes it hard to get through.

I think August feels longest. All the summer camps are done, it's hot as heck, and we're just waiting for school to start.

[tacokick]

Feb 13, 2024 1:34:52 GMT -5 artichokie said:

Feb 13, 2024 0:40:41 GMT -5 tacokick said:

I really don’t know anything about her beyond the book so take that as you will.

Her husband/marriage sounds awful. She admits they are horrible with money and spend every penny that comes in and that was a lot of stress and mess. She never seems to actually like him. Her family of origin are dramatic and messy and she has poor boundaries with them.

She glosses over how for her child’s entire life people (teachers, doctors, friends) were telling her that her child needed help and her/her husband ignored them until they all were together for more than a few hours in a row when the kid was around 8 and they realized all these people were right and finally took the kid to a doctor.

I also felt like despite the title it was weirdly not about ambition but about her compulsion to work and make money at the exclusion of everything else in her life. She never seemed to actually enjoy her work or to want to do better which was odd. She bounced around from job to job moving up but in a way that made it sound like she wasn’t in control. Like she gets jobs from contacts or because she wants to move, not because she has any interest in them then she works there a billion hours a week and seems miserable the whole time.


The writing was solid and she seemed to be honest in her retellings which is a plus but the content was rough and not quite how they are promoting it imo

I had an ARC so possible they clean it up before publication but eek! The entire book was filled with stories I would never tell another living soul.

Oh man, I’m shocked…I think?? Romolini is smart, witty as hell. Have u listened to Everything is Fine podcast?

No, I was not familiar with her at all. She does seem smart and funny in the book. It’s not poorly written.

It was a memoir where I felt like the person writing thought all of the content was super relatable (and possibly even funny and charming) to everyone and instead it was kind of horrifying.