As the Page Turns (the Book Thread)

[Tesla]

Reacher fans: Have you seen this? TV Series on Amazon Prime

 

[Jenny]

Interesting - at first blush, at least the casting seems to be a lot more suitable. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Tesla]

Interesting - at first blush, at least the casting seems to be a lot more suitable. Thanks for the heads up!

You're welcome.

 

[jeffisjeff]

Interesting - at first blush, at least the casting seems to be a lot more suitable. Thanks for the heads up!

Well, it would be hard to get less suitable than Tom Cruise.

 

[Jenny]

There's a trailer here - looks fun

 

[puglover]

A Reacher series - intriguing as Reacher is the ultimate loner who would need a new cast for every storyline. I guess they could have his brother and mother or his army commander and daughter but even they are very secondary characters absent in most of the books.

 

[Jenny]

This is a full season based on the first book, The Killing Floor. That story includes his brother, and from the cast list, they will be flashing back to his childhood (as several short stories did later). Did notice another character that I'm pretty sure doesn't appear until several books later as a recurring character (there are a handful, not many, but some), but maybe they are trying to establish something in the hopes of making subsequent seasons.

Lee Child is also heavily involved with this, and from the pre-publicity sounds like they are trying hard to do it right this time.

I can't wait

 

[clairecloutier]

So a little belated, but this was my booklist for 2021. It's a mix of my books + YA/kids books that I read out loud with my girls.

2021

Clark, Heather. Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath.

Tolstoy, Lev. Father Sergius, Master and Man, The Devil.

Hahn, Mary Downing. Deep, Dark, and Dangerous.

Fatland, Erika. Sovietistan.

Hawke, David Freeman. Everyday Life in Early America.

Older, Daniel Jose. The Dactyl Hill Squad (book 1).

Schaeffer, Susan Fromberg. Poison.

Vermette, David. A Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans.

Ten Boom, Corrie. In My Father’s House.

LeDoux, Lucille Verrault. We Were Not Spoiled: A Franco-American Memoir.

Kaneda, Patrice Demers. A Tale of Two Migrations.

Cather, Willa. Shadows on the Rock. (re-read)

Masure, Lorraine Dutile. Growing Up Franco-American.

Cohen, Michael A. American Maelstrom (1968).

Thomas, Evan. Robert Kennedy: His Life.

Farber, David. The Age of Great Dreams: America in the 1960s.

Cleveland, Karen. Need to Know.

Peck, Richard. The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp.

Brink, Carol Ryrie. The Bad Times of Irma Baumlein.

American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Decoding Your Cat.

King, Coretta Scott. My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr.

Eccles, W.J. The French in North America, 1500-1783.

Chekhov, Anton. The Complete Short Novels.

Logevall, Fredrik. JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956.

O’Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Porter, Connie. Addy.

The Sylvia Plath and JFK biographies stood out for the quality of writing (excellent and very readable in both cases, while still being well-balanced and academically sound). With both biographies, I also liked the focus on their subjects' early years, which to me, is important in understanding everything that comes later.

The most significant book for me personally was David Vermette's A Distinct Alien Race, which is about the history of Franco-Americans, the myths around them, and their experience as American immigrants. Lucille Verrault LeDoux's We Were Not Spoiled: A Franco-American Memoir is a personal memoir that serves as a great companion piece.

Didn't read too much fiction, but I did enjoy re-reading Willa Cather's Shadows on the Rock. Written by Cather in 1931, it's the story of a 12-year-old French-Canadian girl in Quebec in the 1600s. The vivid imagery and simply drawn but iconic characters make the book memorable. It's about a different time and place, and there are aspects of the story that will strike the modern eye as inappropriate. Still, there is something beautiful about it.

 

[mjb52]

What did you think of Father Sergius? I absolutely loved it. It had a (don't spoil people) truly shocking moment that I will remember forever. Probably one of my top ten omg's from canon-type literature, which... while it has many good qualities... I wouldn't say necessarily often has that real "holy shit did that just happen" quality.

 

[clairecloutier]

What did you think of Father Sergius? I absolutely loved it. It had a (don't spoil people) truly shocking moment that I will remember forever. Probably one of my top ten omg's from canon-type literature, which... while it has many good qualities... I wouldn't say necessarily often has that real "holy shit did that just happen" quality.

I really enjoyed Father Sergius. It was part of a collection I read of Tolstoy's short novels. They were all good; I love Tolstoy. For me, the one that stood out most, and that I'm not going to forget, is Master and Man. That was the most stunning. The absurd tragedy of Alyosha the Pot is also going to stay with me.

 

[Husky]

Do people still read Lovecraft these days? I should read at least one book by him but I don't know which one.

 

[Bunny Hop]

I just finished 'Spin' by Patricia Cornwell. I'd never read any of her books before and don't think I will be again. It was pitched as a mash up of mystery/thriller and science fiction which on paper I should have really liked, but I didn't. The science fiction was all about the technology, which isn't my thing in sci fi and the thriller/mystery part took way too long to get anywhere and then it all finished in a rush.

 

[MacMadame]

I just finished 'Spin' by Patricia Cornwell. I'd never read any of her books before and don't think I will be again. It was pitched as a mash up of mystery/thriller and science fiction which on paper I should have really liked, but I didn't. The science fiction was all about the technology, which isn't my thing in sci fi and the thriller/mystery part took way too long to get anywhere and then it all finished in a rush.

I read some of her earlier works which were straight mysteries and better but the more she writes, the less I like the results.

 

[genevieve]

end/beginning of the year wrap up:

Under the Whispering Door, TJ Klune - I cried at the end of this book. Loved it. It reads like a YA book, but the language is adult. Writing style reminded me of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

All Her Little Secrets, Wanda M. Morris - a fairly straightforward thriller, enjoyed it but it also had a major pet peeve of mine, which is when highly accomplished and smart people do something that anyone in their profession would absolutely know not to do. Double pet peeve when it's a female character.

The Library of the Dead, TL Huchu - more magicky fun, set in a future Scotland where "something" has happened so it's slightly post-apocalyptic. This is clearly meant to be the start of a series, and I liked that the circumstances of the environment weren't all laid out here.

Horror Stories: A Memoir, Liz Phair - it took me way too long to read this, it's now 2 weeks overdue. I blame the essay-style format of the book - I liked all the chapters, but the book doesn't follow a linear timeline, so it was easy to put down for a while before starting again. Exile in Guyville was one of the most important albums in my young life, and Phair's writing follows a similar vein, in that she's unafraid to leave herself looking less than the hero in her own life. Interesting tidbits about being part of the music biz, but it's not really about her music or records, so anyone looking for insights into her songwriting or recording process will be disappointed.

 

[PrincessLeppard]

I just finished Stealing the Future by Max Hertzberg, and I really, really wanted to like it. It's an alternate history set in 1993, but East Germany didn't rejoin West Germany and the Soviet Union still exists. In East Germany, the people are trying to do socialism right and it's a struggle. They are being sabotaged by former Stasi agents, the KGB (though one agent winds up helping our hero), and West Germany, who is of course itching to get its hands on factories and whatnot. It should've been interesting, but it was just meh. There's two more books in the series, but I dunno.

Meh.

I did like that it hinted that Putin was behind a lot of it: "a KGB agent stationed in Dresden."

 

[MacMadame]

For book lovers, librarians, and bookstore workers among us:

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ETA as an IT-type person, this is my favorite:

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[Susan1]

I just reserved Run Rose Run by James Patterson and Dolly Parton. It's not in the library yet. I am 79th on the list.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

I just finished 'Spin' by Patricia Cornwell. I'd never read any of her books before and don't think I will be again. It was pitched as a mash up of mystery/thriller and science fiction which on paper I should have really liked, but I didn't. The science fiction was all about the technology, which isn't my thing in sci fi and the thriller/mystery part took way too long to get anywhere and then it all finished in a rush.

I liked her early Kay Scarpetta books but Kay and Lucy became more and more annoying as the series went on. Cornwell kept turning them into super heroes--smarter than anyone else and you name it, they could do it--and the plots became too unrealistic. Cornwell's writing deteriorated and she seemed to be being paid by the word. When she reaches her word limit, she's done whether or not the story is.

One book featured the agency where I worked until I retired and one of our field activities. She really should have done more research. Several of my coworkers read the book, too, and we were all laughing at how much she got wrong and how impossible it would be for a group to steal any nuclear submarine or ship from an inactive Naval shipyard. "Inactive" means just that; the power plants have been removed and those suckers aren't going anywhere.

 

[puglover]

I just finished listening to the Jamie Lynn Spears book "Things I Should Have Said". I admit I know scanty history about Jamie Lynn but she hardly seems even slightly a villain in the Spears family saga. So she was the youngest and maybe slightly spoiled but she chose to parent her daughter as a teenage Mom and it certainly sounds like the baby Daddy was an addict, spender and holder on (no matter what his sister says). Too bad nobody in that family seems to have a clue how to build bridges.

 

[rfisher]

I've invested hours reading 4 stupid books that were a combination of the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Divergent, Aliens and Twilight waiting for the protag and her lover to finally have sex. Four books. Thousand of pages of his chiseled face and rock hard abs and kisses. Then it was all chants about his rising serpent. I was laughing so hard and yelling are you kidding me I scared the dogs. His rising serpent. I hope the aliens kill them both.

 

[Baby Yoda On Skates]

I've invested hours reading 4 stupid books that were a combination of the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Divergent, Aliens and Twilight waiting for the protag and her lover to finally have sex. Four books. Thousand of pages of his chiseled face and rock hard abs and kisses. Then it was all chants about his rising serpent. I was laughing so hard and yelling are you kidding me I scared the dogs. His rising serpent. I hope the aliens kill them both.

You neglected to share the title and author after this fantastic review. I need something to take my mind off of Olympic stress.

 

[rfisher]

You neglected to share the title and author after this fantastic review. I need something to take my mind off of Olympic stress.

Vera Nazarian the first of the series is Qualify, then Compete, Win and Survive. The author has won all sorts of Sci-Fi awards which is why I started reading them. No idea how she won those awards based on this series. But, then, I bought ALL FOUR EFFING books, so yea. The are very YA friendly if your kid is a nerd and doesn't mind endless discussions of quantum physics and music theory and isn't waiting for the rock hard abs payoff. I waded through all that string theory and quantum entanglement multi-dimensional, killing each other hunger games stuff for a rising serpent. I at least deserved to read the word penis instead of "down there."

 

[Marta24]

Vera Nazarian the first of the series is Qualify, then Compete, Win and Survive. The author has won all sorts of Sci-Fi awards which is why I started reading them. No idea how she won those awards based on this series. But, then, I bought ALL FOUR EFFING books, so yea. The are very YA friendly if your kid is a nerd and doesn't mind endless discussions of quantum physics and music theory and isn't waiting for the rock hard abs payoff. I waded through all that string theory and quantum entanglement multi-dimensional, killing each other hunger games stuff for a rising serpent. I at least deserved to read the word penis instead of "down there."

Have you ever read books by Jennifer l Armentrout? Her Blood and Ash series is fun.

 

[MsZem]

I've invested hours reading 4 stupid books that were a combination of the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Divergent, Aliens and Twilight waiting for the protag and her lover to finally have sex. Four books. Thousand of pages of his chiseled face and rock hard abs and kisses. Then it was all chants about his rising serpent. I was laughing so hard and yelling are you kidding me I scared the dogs. His rising serpent. I hope the aliens kill them both.

I make sure to stay away from any romance novel that could conceivably use such language.

 

[quartz]

I can’t read romance at all. Flirty convos, sly glances, and heat in the loins stuff drives me bonkers. Sex is fine, I’m just totally bored by all the tedious lead up to it - I don’t got all day here.

 

[MsZem]

I can’t read romance at all. Flirty convos, sly glances, and heat in the loins stuff drives me bonkers. Sex is fine, I’m just totally bored by all the tedious lead up to it - I don’t got all day here.

I've read romances with none of those things or with very little of them.

 

[CassAgain]

I can’t read romance at all. Flirty convos, sly glances, and heat in the loins stuff drives me bonkers. Sex is fine, I’m just totally bored by all the tedious lead up to it - I don’t got all day here.

I like some romance, but it has to be character driven with characters that I find interesting.

 

[Susan1]

This is what we said -

‘Jack Reacher’ Author on Tom Cruise Casting: ‘I Think That the Size Thing is Important’

Lee Childs is happy that the new "Jack Reacher" series cast a taller actor to satisfy fans of his books.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Prancer]

The actor might be big, but he still doesn't look like my mental image of Reacher.

Alas, that is true of nearly all book adaptations.

 

[Jenny]

Other than being better groomed than I'd picture Reacher, it fits for me. OK maybe he's more pumped too, but

I've only watched the first two, but so far I'm enjoying it.

Back to books for a minute, awhile back I recommended Bath Haus by PJ Vernon and now on the weekend I read the author's first (and so far only other) book, When You Find Me. Not quite as good, but up there among all the thrillers that have been so popular in the past few years. I basically blew another Saturday to this author; it's quite a page turner. My biggest issue/question/wish I could discuss comes close to the end, so no spoilers here!