As the Page Turns (the Book Thread)

[rfisher]

I'm so annoyed with Kathy Reichs. She's turned Tempe into a whiney idiot in her Bones books. She does absolutely stupid things then spends three pages whining about it. I said I was through with the books after the last one, but caved and bought the new one. I'm done. There's hardly any forensic anthropology. Very little sexy Canadian cop and mostly Tempe whining about everything. I guess Ms Reich has totally run out of ideas.

 

[Susan1]

I'm so annoyed with Kathy Reichs. She's turned Tempe into a whiney idiot in her Bones books. She does absolutely stupid things then spends three pages whining about it. I said I was through with the books after the last one, but caved and bought the new one. I'm done. There's hardly any forensic anthropology. Very little sexy Canadian cop and mostly Tempe whining about everything. I guess Ms Reich has totally run out of ideas.

They are on my list. The last Bones book I read was from 2007. I don't read them close together like I do other series. There are always pages of - I turned on this street and drove past this and turned down this street (in Canada - means nothing to me). I quit on the one about space after a couple pages. And it gets confusing if you watch Bones reruns and then read her books. I read her standalone "Two Nights". I think I liked it. I read too much to remember.

Non-comfort books - I still have all the Flowers in the Attic books. No thanks.

 

[Bunny Hop]

I have just finished reading Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was expecting a biography telling me stuff I didn't know, but it is so much more than that. It covers relevant parts of American political and social history at the time, much of which I didn't know, in addition to the lives of Laura and daughter Rose Wilder Lane. I think it's the best biography I have ever read with the way it ties the history and biography together.

But wow, Rose does not come out of it well. I mean, there were things about Laura that I perhaps didn't like, which I was expecting in discovering the real person behind the character in the novels, but I was not prepared to learn about Rose's somewhat strained relationship with her parents and her attitude towards them at times.

I'm so annoyed with Kathy Reichs. She's turned Tempe into a whiney idiot in her Bones books. She does absolutely stupid things then spends three pages whining about it. I said I was through with the books after the last one, but caved and bought the new one. I'm done. There's hardly any forensic anthropology. Very little sexy Canadian cop and mostly Tempe whining about everything. I guess Ms Reich has totally run out of ideas.

I gave up on the novels soon after I gave up on the TV show. Both were turning Tempe into a character unrecognisable from the original although in different ways (and in the case of the TV show, one who should have been unable to function in society and hold down a demanding job). Sounds like I made the right decision.

 

[ryanj07]

Maybe we can all share our "comfort" books. Agatha Christie is another for me, and come to think of it this goes back to my tweens, so there you go. My favourite is A Murder is Announced - I've read it a dozen or more times and even though I know how it ends, it's just the perfect little village murder story (it's a Miss Marple of course), I feel like I know the characters, Christie's most cozy writing with just enough humour thrown in.

Anyone else?

I loved that one too! I was a huge Agatha Christie fan back in middle and high school. I feel like the only person that preferred her Miss Marple mysteries to the Poirot ones lol. I heard that Louise Penny was a similar author so I read her “Still Life” a few years ago and it was just okay. I want to go back and read some more Marple mysteries now!!

 

[genevieve]

Agatha Christie is definitely one of the authors I can read again and again. I started with the Poirot series and have only read a few of the Miss Marple ones, but @ryanj07 you're not the only one to prefer those books.

I also have a few Dick Francis books that I can read again and again: Nerve, Odds Against, Whip Hand, Banker, Longshot are a few favorites.

 

[Prancer]

Miss Marple was always my favorite, too. I wasn't a Poirot fan at all.

Dick Francis is another good one.

 

[MacMadame]

Dick Francis is another good one.

I used to read all his books in order once a year.

 

[Erin]

My comfort books are Jane Austen, Maeve Binchy, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. @Bunny Hop, I read Prairie Fires a while ago and loved it too!

I may hit up the comfort reading soon, but I read two new books today. The first was Legally Blonde, which I somehow had never realized was a book in addition to a movie. I feel like the lead character is not quite as appealing or likable as in the movie, but it was still fun fluff.

On the not fluff side of things, I finally got The Testaments from the library and while I find Atwood to be kind of hit or miss, this one is definitely a hit. Easily her best book outside of The Handmaid’s Tale. Apparently, that setting brings out the best in her writing.

 

[Susan1]

Whoever wrote about Summer of 69, I'm really enjoying it. I would have been almost Jessie's age then, not with a vacation home or anything, but remember references from that period. I'm trying to stretch it out. Normally, I would have read all last evening and then again this morning, but I had to keep the t.v. on because of the weather. And now we have a high wind warning all day, so I am saving it in case the t.v. and internet go out with the power and I have to sit by the window to read. I should have gotten one of those free headlamps at Harbor Freight when I had the chance. Ha ha

 

[genevieve]

On the not fluff side of things, I finally got The Testaments from the library and while I find Atwood to be kind of hit or miss, this one is definitely a hit. Easily her best book outside of The Handmaid’s Tale. Apparently, that setting brings out the best in her writing.

I can't remember the last time I really just could not put a book down. I was wary of this sequel after such a long time, but I think the decades between, and the creative re-imagining done in the series,, actually spurred Atwood to new ways of thinking about this world. It easily could have been just a money-grab book.

Oryx and Crake is still waiting for me

 

[Jenny]

I enjoy both Marple and Poirot stories - depends on the mood in a way. I find Poirot's sidekick Hastings a lot of fun too. I rarely read the handful of Christie books that feature neither. I'm also a huge fan of any of her books that include a floorplan or map of some sort

 

[mjb52]

My favorite Christies are the even more than normally creepy ones, like Toward Zero and Five Little Pigs. I used to avoid the non Poirot and Marple ones but at some point I just ran out and had to give them a chance. The story of her own brief disappearance is also fascinating - she lived quite a life.

 

[ryanj07]

Whoever wrote about Summer of 69, I'm really enjoying it. I would have been almost Jessie's age then, not with a vacation home or anything, but remember references from that period. I'm trying to stretch it out. Normally, I would have read all last evening and then again this morning, but I had to keep the t.v. on because of the weather. And now we have a high wind warning all day, so I am saving it in case the t.v. and internet go out with the power and I have to sit by the window to read. I should have gotten one of those free headlamps at Harbor Freight when I had the chance. Ha ha

Glad that you’re enjoying it, it’s one of my very favorites from Hilderbrand! She has a short sequel “Summer of ‘79” on Amazon that I’ve been meaning to read as well.

While I favored Miss Marple, I really enjoyed a lot of the Poirot books as well. I always liked the ones that included his novelist friend, Ms. Oliver!

 

[cygnus]

I enjoy both Marple and Poirot stories - depends on the mood in a way. I find Poirot's sidekick Hastings a lot of fun too. I rarely read the handful of Christie books that feature neither. I'm also a huge fan of any of her books that include a floorplan or map of some sort

You might enjoy this podcast, if you haven't already encountered it. They are discussing every Agatha Christie novel in publication order and are about half way through (also the short stories, but I haven't read many, so I don't listen to them). They also discuss any movie/TV adaptations in the episode. They do contain spoilers, so you should have read the books first.

All About Agatha (Christie)

All About Agatha is a podcast all about, well, Agatha. Agatha Christie, of course. The Queen of Crime, a real-life Dame of the British Empire and author of sixty-six mystery novels that spanned the Tw

soundcloud.com

 

[pat c]

Count me as another who re-reads Dick Francis and after leaving Christie alone for a few years, I'm now re-reading her. I just finished And Then There were None. A great read as I'd forgotten the ending and now am on a Caribbean Mystery.

I like Louise Penny as she has adopted Christie's cozy village idea. Some I've liked better than others - I liked a Beautiful Mystery as it had some music history in it. I'm also slogging my way through Gloria Steinem's A Life on the Road and a couple of others that I pick up and read for a while and then go to something else.

 

[Susan1]

Glad that you’re enjoying it, it’s one of my very favorites from Hilderbrand! She has a short sequel “Summer of ‘79” on Amazon that I’ve been meaning to read as well.

Funny, someone's house had a "modern" kitchen - avocado appliances. Yup. Although, ours were copper. When we moved in 1972, those were avocado. Bleah. A couple years later, everything was switched out to almond.

 

[Prancer]

I always liked the ones that included his novelist friend, Ms. Oliver!

The Pale Horse was a favorite of mine.

 

[Wyliefan]

The Pale Horse was a favorite of mine.

I hear that's just been adapted for TV, but I'd like to read the book before watching (even though it's said to be pretty loosely based on the book).

 

[jeffisjeff]

I hear that's just been adapted for TV, but I'd like to read the book before watching (even though it's said to be pretty loosely based on the book).

I watched it on Prime, starring Rufus Sewell. It was pretty good. The series has just two episodes so it stayed interesting and didn't drag on too much. I haven't read the book, so I am not sure how it compares. I like Christie, so I am not sure why I've never read this one.

 

[Japanfan]

Oryx and Crake is still waiting for me

Loved that trilogy! So imaginative for the time and a very satisfying read.

 

[Prancer]

I watched it on Prime, starring Rufus Sewell. It was pretty good. The series has just two episodes so it stayed interesting and didn't drag on too much. I haven't read the book, so I am not sure how it compares. I like Christie, so I am not sure why I've never read this one.

It's definitely not her best mystery, but it's uncharacteristrically atmospheric for Christie.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

A sad week for children's books with the deaths of author Betsy Byars and illustrator Tomie dePaola. I have The Legend of the Bluebonnet, The Quilt Story and The Art Lesson in my collection. I'm trying to decide if I want to reread The Summer of the Swans as an adult or just remember it from when I read it as a young teen.

 

[Jenny]

I'm trying to decide if I want to reread The Summer of the Swans as an adult or just remember it from when I read it as a young teen.

I have re-read many of the books I remembered reading as a pre-teen and teen - some that were written for those age groups, others that were adult books that I first read then - and it's always been enjoyable.

In every case, the parts I remembered so fondly and/or vividly were still there, along with a lot I had obviously forgotten, or not seen through a youthful lens.

None disappointed at all - I have to think that the books that had the most impact on me, or that I remembered that well, did so because they were in fact very good books that can be enjoyed in many ways.

 

[ryanj07]

Just finished The White Queen by Philippa Gregory. I enjoyed it but I think I’m tiring of her books a bit. There’s only so many battles and plots to put someone on the throne I can take and I love the historical fiction genre lol.

Other People’s Houses by Abby Waxman was a solid read. A busy body mother of three that runs the neighborhood car pool frequently oversteps and can’t stay out of the problems of others. It was my first by the author and it had a lot of funny moments but I found the main character (Francis) slight annoying and much preferred when the view point changed to one of her much more interesting neighbors.

 

[Erin]

I tried to read Strangers and Cousins, but just could not get into it. It had lots of good reviews, but when I was 20% into the book and nothing had happened, I gave up. I prefer plot over stylish writing, I guess.

 

[Susan1]

I finally got to finish Summer of 69. I know there is a sequel for 1979 (yuck), but I wish there was one for 70, 71, etc. I thought this was kind of like Jodi Picoult books - family drama - but I see all her other books look like beach romances.

So, there I was, a normal Saturday night, reading and listening to the Revival 60s-70s channel on the t.v. and completely got away from life for awhile. Summer (The First Time) by Bobby Goldsboro came on, and it fit so much with the book (not the story), even though I bought the 45 in the summer of 1973, and I've been so stressed, I started crying.

There was a special on AXS tv in 2019 - Summer of 69, the 50th anniversary of everything that happened back then. I've watched it a couple times. My childhood. And a great year for music.

I started a Robert Crais Joe Pike book this morning. Killers and dead people everywhere - should be fun (ha ha).

(Tomorrow was the original day the library would be open again.)

 

[Erin]

I also just read Summer of ‘69. I agree with people who posted it was one of Hildebrand’s better books. It reminded me a bit of some of Judy Blume’s better adult novels - especially Summer Sisters and In the Unlikely Event. Maybe it was also because it included the Blume trope of girls wanting to get their period, which was the stupidest part of that book (as a literally don’t know anyone who was excited about that). Some parts of it were also a little too pat and neat, but I thought it was decent fluff overall.

 

[Susan1]

Update on library's site -

Calling for help? The AskMe Line (937.463.2665) is now answered live, Monday - Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. If you receive our voicemail, please leave a message and we will return the call as soon as possible. To maintain safety, and follow the Governor’s Stay At Home orders, Managers are taking shifts answering lines from their homes. If you hear a baby squeal, the barks and meows of our house pets, or the rowdy neighbor in the background, we know you’ll chuckle alongside us as we do our best to answer your pressing questions. We’re just happy to have the opportunity to connect with you again!

 

[PrincessLeppard]

On the list of dystopian books that is somewhere in this thread is book called Red Clocks, and it described as sort of a modern day Handmaid's Tale. Abortion has been banned in the US and doctors and women seeking them can be thrown in jail for them.

The part of the book I liked was that it had the same message as the Handmaid's Tale, in that apathy will lead us down this road if we don't speak up.

I pretty much hated two of the four main characters (although they both sort of redeem themselves at the end) and I thought the diary of the long dead Faroese woman was a desperate attempt to make some sort of meaning, but I missed it or didn't care enough, I guess, because after a while I just skipped over them.

I am NOT a prude (hello, do you people know me?) but damn the author finds so many ways to talk about inserting things into one's vagina, including a (IMHO) rather problematic sex scene involving an underage teenage girl. I mean, I get that the red clock is the menstrual cycle but come on. Seriously.

All that said, I did finish it one day, so there was something in it that kept me reading. But I won't read it again.

 

[Erin]

I just finished Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe and would highly recommend it, as long as you don’t mind a tough topic. It’s a narrative non-fiction about The Troubles in Northern Ireland, focused on the disappearance and murder of Jean McConville and on certain key personalities within the Provisional IRA. It’s not a full accounting of the time, nor is it meant to be. But it’s well written and hard to put down, if also hard to read at times. It helped put a few things my relatives who live in Ireland have talked about, and it was interesting to see the number of times Dundalk made an appearance, which is where a number of my relatives live and where one of my grandfathers grew up.