Belated Friday reading 3/15

[charlatti]

What have you been reading this week?


QOTW: In honor of the Ides of March, what plays have you enjoyed seeing or reading (Shakespeare or others)?

[travella]

I finished Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, 2.5* (I wish the author would have shown more constraint-tackling one or two social issues and doing them well rather than trying to tackle so many and not doing a very good job at any of them.)

I'm currently reading The Bee Sting by Paul Murray - the lack of punctuation is killing me.

QOTW: I have only been to my daughter's plays. I haven't read a play since undergrad.

[charlatti]

I finished The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins, which was enjoyably twisty, and am now reading A Cold and Lonely Place by Sarah J. Henry — good so far, and I like the snowy northern setting.

QOTW: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is my favorite Shakespeare, probably because I know it better than most of the others. I don’t know many non-Shakespeare plays, other than a handful at my school and my kid’s school.

[tacokick]

Busy week:

The Hunter by Tana French (good!)

Murder Road by Simone St. James (eh)

Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds by Michelle Horton (I felt like it was missing some detajls)

This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life by Lyz Lenz (I don’t think it quite did what she wanted it to)

A Distant Echo by Val McDermid (ok reread since I listened to the rest of the series)

Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon with Kim Green (a lot)

Consent by Jill Ciment (interesting post metoo look at her first memoir about her life and marriage to her husband who she met as a teenager when he was in his late forties)

QOTW: We did a A Doll's House in high school and some lines from that spring to mind oddly frequently. We saw Stickfly on Broadway and liked that a lot.

[Vespasia]

I read The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert. It was really good but I went into with such high expectations that it didn't quite live up. 

I also started Tress of the Emerald Sea which is great so far. I like the writing style.


QOTW: In college I did a Shakespeare's London study abroad and we went to two shows at the Globe. It was in 2003 and the theme Regime Change, can't imagine why. We saw Richard II with an all male cast and a production of Richard III that was all women. It was a really great experience!

[dearprudence]

Finished The Jasad Heir, Every Rising Sun, and The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. Loved The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store and enjoyed the other two.

Started reading Alif the Unseen which is about "One Hundred and One Days" - the Jin version of "One Hundred and One Nights" and a computer programmer that stumbles upon it.

Started listening to This Woven Kingdom and I'm really enjoying it. It's got real Cinderella vibes as it's about a queen in hiding as a servant and there's a ball where the prince must find a queen, but also their enemies and she's magic.



QOTW: In honor of the Ides of March, what plays have you enjoyed seeing or reading (Shakespeare or others)? I have a degree in theater so I've seen/ read so many amazing plays. Right now I'm very into Kate Hamill's adaptations- her Pride and Prejudice is one of the funniest performances I've ever seen. I saw a great production of the Taming of the Shrew in Vancouver that took place in the Old West and that was fun. If you have Audible, I highly recommend Animals by Stacy Osei-Kuffour.

[estrellita]

I just finished Wellness and I really liked it! My only complaints were the constant "lists" that got a bit long winded, and I felt like it ended abruptly. Another chapter or an epilogue would have been nice!

Just started Bride and I'm liking it. It's definitely different!

QOTW: I don't see many live shows but I liked seeing some of the Disney cruise ones (Beauty and the Beast on the Dream was amazing!). I'd love to see more though!

[krystee]

I read a lot (for me!) this week!

The Collected Regrets of Clover: My favorite of the week: 4.5 stars

Beyond That the Sea: A four-star historical fiction read

Heartless Hunter: A romantasy about a witch and witch hunter. I enjoyed it!

Murder Road: Fine, but the other ones I’ve read from here were all excellent, so probably my least favorite of her books.

The Appeal: I didn’t really get the appeal.

QOTW: I took my 8YO to see Hamilton in January, which was fun! I LOVED seeing &Juliet in London. It was such a fun show, and being in England for a Shakespeare-related play added to the enjoyment! I also had fun at my son’s friend’s local park district performance of Finding Nemo this weekend.

[wawa]

After DNFing the second book of a trilogy that had just totally ground to a painful place (Blood & Honey, Shelby Mahurin) I needed something light and fun, so I'm two books in on smock 's Barrett Bride's trilogy.

Seduced by a Surgeon and Engaged to an Earl, Sylvia Prince. Exactly what I wanted.




QOTW: We've been doing shows with our kids every spring for the past few years at the Kennedy Center's family theater and they're really cute, but my favorite is still the first one we went to - don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. (most of them are based on books) They're one-set plays with a small overlapping cast, the tickets are really cheap and they're stinking adorable.

[CrazyLucky]

Mar 16, 2024 7:25:16 GMT -5 travella said:

I finished Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, 2.5* (I wish the author would have shown more constraint-tackling one or two social issues and doing them well rather than trying to tackle so many and not doing a very good job at any of them.)

I'm currently reading The Bee Sting by Paul Murray - the lack of punctuation is killing me.

QOTW: I have only been to my daughter's plays. I haven't read a play since undergrad.

I have exactly the same thoughts as you regarding the punctuation in the Bee Sting.  Maybe this would have been a better audio book.  Sometimes I have to go back and re-read, because I realize I thought a sentence ended where it didn't.  I don't know why anyone thinks that's a good idea.  And why can't the author break it up into smaller chapters?  Besides that, I have concerns that I'll be able to finish before it's due back.  I don't think it's a bad book so far, but I'm not feeling the same adoration for it that others have.

I'm not much of a critic when it comes to plays.  I think I've enjoyed every one I've been to.  The most recent one for me was Wicked.  I'm excited to be back in the northeast where seeing a play on Broadway is a reasonable thing to do.