Outside of a Dog, a Book is Man's Best Friend (The Book Thread)

[PrincessLeppard]

I just finished a graphic novel called the The Ukrainian and Soviet Diaries (it was research for my play. Maybe. and while parts of it are a disjointed mess, it covers some interesting stuff, particularly the Soviet part and the murder of journalists under Putin.

 

[Prancer]

Gah! Remind me to never request every book on three suggested summer reading lists again. They just keep rolling in.

The Wrong Mother--Married mother of two Sally seizes the day when her work trip is cancelled and sneaks off to spend a week at a spa hotel, hoping to get some sleep. She meets and has a fling with a man who tells her his name is Mark Bretheridge; he tells her all about his wife, Geraldine, their daughter, and the unusual home they own. Several months later, she learns that Geraldine Bretheridge and her daughter are dead in an apparent murder-suicide committed in the unusual home. The grieving widower she sees on TV is not the man from the spa hotel and someone just might be trying to kill Sally. I did not realize that this book was the third in a series and I had clearly missed a few episodes in the lives of the police officers involved, but that was pretty minor. While this was mystery-suspense, the main theme seems to be that the mothers of small children lead extremely stressful lives and their husbands are useless. The setup was engrossing, the story was okay, but my, what an angry book. Mothers of young children will nod along, but not a book most fathers would like, I'd think.

In a somewhat similar vein:

Behind Her Eyes--Lonely single mom Louise meets a man in a bar; they share some drinks, some laughs, and a kiss before he backs off. The next day, she learns that he is her new boss, Mark, and that he is married to the beautiful and seemingly fragile Adele. Louise soon finds herself BFFs with Adele and having an affair with Mark. But is Mark the charming but reticent man she loves or is he the controlling, possibly abusive man married to Adele?

The story is told in alternating sections by Louise and Adele with some third-person objective flashbacks to Adele's past, so the reader knows, even if Louise does not, that Adele is not the fragile being she appears to be but a raging sociopath who is pulling all the strings. But why? She keeps referring to her plan, but what on earth is it? It's those questions that pulled me through the book and I was quite into it until......something was explained. I can't say what it was without spoiling the book entirely, but it was not my thing at all. Some would like it, but again--I don't know how to say what it was without spoiling the whole thing. The ending is pretty hair-raising, but you have to buy into the explanation to love it.

The Breakdown--I read the author's Behind Closed Doors a while back (review is in here somewhere) and found it a real page turner, but I did not much care for this one. The writing seems rushed (pushed by the publisher because of the success of the first book, I'm sure) and while there are red herrings galore, I thought I could see how this was going to go before I got 50 pages in. I skipped to the end, went back until I found the spot where everything was revealed and learned that, yes, I was right. I don't mind being spoiled and would have gone back and read it all if I had thought it was worth the time, but I didn't. Not sure if I can really review it as I didn't read most of it, but I think I can safely say I found it pretty predictable.

I do have some better stuff coming in the queue

 

[Susan1]

I saw the latest Alex Kava book in the library magazine and it looked good, so I reserved her first book from 2000. It came from outside our system, but still local, not interlibrary. I opened it and the first 6 chapters fell out!!! I read it and returned it (inside - I wasn't going to stick it in the electronic book drop) I showed them and the librarian said that something that old (2000?) and broken they usually just throw away but she likes Alex Kava's books so much, she was going to get it repaired and keep it in circulation with the others. I like the author too, so I reserved the second one! She said the latest is a prequel, that explains the case that got the main character where she was in the first book.

I wish they would have kept J. T. Ellison's books in circulation. Only one was reservable without using the interlibrary system, which can come from all over the US, and takes weeks. I use that, and read other authors while I am waiting.

 

[rfisher]

Just finished JD Robb's latest Eve Dallas. She did something a little strange this time. The book spent a great deal of time on something that seemed like it was going to be a major plot point and then just wasn't. The book totally fizzled at the end. It was as if Robb/Roberts just didn't care any more by the time she got to the end of the book. The non-plot point was actually interesting and would have made for a much more interesting ending than the one she just randomly stuck on to finish the story. I read the books for the characters, but usually there is a coherent plot and this time it just all fell apart. And, we didn't even get much time with the characters. This one was just a $$$ contribution. If she wasn't so zealous about her work, I'd think she let someone else write this one, ala Janet Evanovitch and her Plum books after number 12.

 

[MacMadame]

I'd think she let someone else write this one, ala Janet Evanovitch and her Plum books after number 12.

What?!

 

[rfisher]

What?!

Evanovitch's daughter Alexis. You can really tell the difference.

 

[MsZem]

Either Janet or Alexis Evanovich should have had Stephanie change careers at sone point. Nobody can be incompetent for that long. Unless this happened already? I stopped reading years ago.

I was saving a KJ Charles book for a time of need and finally gave in a few days ago and read it. It was very good, of course, but now I am once again stuck with nothing appealing in my TBR folder.

 

[Prancer]

Evanovitch's daughter Alexis. You can really tell the difference.

Definitely. They don't have the same voice at all.

 

[MacMadame]

I guess I don't read them that carefully. Actually, I haven't read anything past 18 and I did notice things that bugged in the past few.

And now I remember we already had this conversation.

 

[Winnipeg]

BTW

Y is for Yesterday is really good!!! Almost done and have enjoyed it a lot. The problem is now waiting forever for Z to come out.

Guesses - Z is for ??? Zoo? Zeppelin, Zero, Zilch, Zephyr

 

[quartz]

Louise Penny is a very popular author in my store, so I finally got around to reading "The Great Reckoning". After 100 pages it really wasn't drawing me in, but I tried one more time and then it really picked up. The red herrings were pretty obvious, and I liked the secondary mystery interwoven with the primary, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters. I can see how she is popular, but I will be content with only reading that one.
Have begun "The Cottingley Secret" and its a charming little book so far, but not terribly exciting.
Ken Follett's "A Column of Fire" the third in the Kingsbridge series is new out today, and has moved into the 1500's. Elizabeth the 1st! Mary Queen of Scots!! I will be purchasing tonight.

 

[Finnice]

BTW

Y is for Yesterday is really good!!! Almost done and have enjoyed it a lot. The problem is now waiting forever for Z to come out.

Guesses - Z is for ??? Zoo? Zeppelin, Zero, Zilch, Zephyr

I am currenrtly reading it, but I have some work reading to stop. Ah. So far I like it.

Z is for Zero, I guess.

 

[JoannaLouise]

Aw, I love the Louise Penny books - I'm a sucker for detective stories. (That charming little town does seem to have more than its fair share of murders, though.) A Great Reckoning is #12 in the series, so you might have missed a bit of back story.

Our summer reading theme for the office book club was "books that have been made into tv series", so I am currently reading/have recently finished:
-The Handmaid's Tale
-Anne of Green Gables
-Except the Dying (Murdoch Mysteries)
-American Gods (tv series of the same name)
-Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse)

I had already read the first 2 years ago, so was just re-reading them. I find the Murdoch Mysteries tv series to be much lighter in tone than the novel, and I think I prefer the tv series. American Gods is...strange, but I'm liking it more than I thought I would. (Have yet to watch the series, though.) I'm not much into sci-fi, but I did really like Leviatian Wakes, and the series seems to (so far) be a pretty faithful adaptation.

 

[quartz]

It's a quiet night at the store and so I am perched at the counter reading Hilary Clinton's "What Happened", and holy crap, she doesn't waste any time pulling punches!! You go girl!!

 

[nlloyd]

Louise Penny is a very popular author in my store, so I finally got around to reading "The Great Reckoning". After 100 pages it really wasn't drawing me in, but I tried one more time and then it really picked up.

It's a quiet night at the store and so I am perched at the counter reading Hilary Clinton's "What Happened", and holy crap, she doesn't waste any time pulling punches!! You go girl!!

There's an interesting connection between Louise Penny and Hilary Clinton. Apparently Clinton is a big fan of Penny's Inspector Gamache series and has stayed with Penny a couple of times, including soon after losing the 2016 US Presidential election. Clinton had sent Penny her condolences upon the death of her husband, Michael Whitehead, in September 2016. Penny, who did not know her well at the time, was touched at Clinton doing this in the midst of her election campaign, and had later invited the Clinton's to stay with her.

 

[dinakt]

For lovers of long well-written yarns (aka "if you liked "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell"), I just finished Eleanor Catton's "The Luminaries". It is set in mid 19th century New Zealand Gold Coast, and is a historical novel with slight elements of the fantastical (won the Booker Price in 2013)
Occasionally I love long, long books, so I loved that one (though am not 100% sure about the ending). Clever structure, good characters, reads like a 19th century novel. Is also good on audible (maybe better...)

 

[Susan1]

BTW

Y is for Yesterday is really good!!! Almost done and have enjoyed it a lot. The problem is now waiting forever for Z to come out.

Guesses - Z is for ??? Zoo? Zeppelin, Zero, Zilch, Zephyr

I'm 100 of 133 on the request list.

 

[Erin]

Apparently I put a bunch of books that Prancer read on hold at the library and they all came in at the same time

Still cranking through thrillers and mystery/suspense, most of which have not been particularly memorable, with the exception of Before the Fall. After reading the blurb, I expected the book to be about the relationship between the survivors and the mystery of what made the plane crash, but that really wasn't it at all. The book touches on (but doesn't necessarily go into any depth about) what happens to a private citizen who becomes a public figure against his will, fate, the media (especially Fox News, which is, in thinly disguised form, ripped to pieces), and how cynicism and suspicion twist our perceptions. The crash investigation unfolds in the background, a story more than a mystery, and the relationship between the survivors is a minor theme.

I thought this one was the best of the bunch that I read. Since I recall a struggle with describing the theme before, I thought the major theme seemed to be the trashing of the stand-in for Fox News.

I also finished With Malice, a YA novel that is just a hair too similar to Dangerous Girls, which I believe several of us have read. The main difference is that the latter focused on the competition that often simmers beneath the surface of female friendships, while the former is more about memory and perception (although the female competition theme is definitely a factor), with a bit of the Amanda Knox case thrown in for good measure.

Agreed that this was very similar to Dangerous Girls, although maybe with a more likeable protagonist. I think if I had read this one first I would have liked it better than Dangerous Girls. Since I didn't, it made it a touch too predictable but I still enjoyed it anyway and would recommend it to people who like books in this genre.

The Wrong Mother--Married mother of two Sally seizes the day when her work trip is cancelled and sneaks off to spend a week at a spa hotel, hoping to get some sleep. She meets and has a fling with a man who tells her his name is Mark Bretheridge; he tells her all about his wife, Geraldine, their daughter, and the unusual home they own. Several months later, she learns that Geraldine Bretheridge and her daughter are dead in an apparent murder-suicide committed in the unusual home. The grieving widower she sees on TV is not the man from the spa hotel and someone just might be trying to kill Sally. I did not realize that this book was the third in a series and I had clearly missed a few episodes in the lives of the police officers involved, but that was pretty minor. While this was mystery-suspense, the main theme seems to be that the mothers of small children lead extremely stressful lives and their husbands are useless. The setup was engrossing, the story was okay, but my, what an angry book. Mothers of young children will nod along, but not a book most fathers would like, I'd think.

This one I found a little disappointing. I'm undecided if I would have been more invested in the police officer stuff if I had read the previous books. I felt like some of the plot twists came a little bit out of nowhere and the last one in particular seemed a little bit unnecessary and jammed in. It seemed a little vague in any event. And I thought the ending of Sally's story was rather abrupt and unsatisfying.

Everything You Want Me To Be: Talented teenager Hattie Hoffman is brutally murdered after her triumphant performance as Lady Macbeth in her high school play. Her small town is stunned; everyone loved charming, sweet Hattie. But as the story unfolds, told by Hattie, the sheriff investigating the murder (who is her father's best friend) and her English teacher (always the English teacher), it becomes apparent that Hattie might be a sociopath (in the sense of being what people want her to be solely because it benefits her), people are not what they seem, and small towns (as always) are full of secrets. This is a debut novel and it shows in the occasional pacing issue, but the author does a good job with the characters; the voices of the narrators were distinctly different and developed believably as the story moved along.

This one's up next and I couldn't remember where it came from until I was scanning this thread. Looking forward to it now on my vacation!

Also, Rich People Problems - I enjoyed it very much, better than China Rich Girlfriend and more in line with Crazy Rich Asians. Perhaps because in this book, Rachel - his most boring character - is barely in it at all, and there's lots of Eddie, my personal favourite It ends in a very pat way though, so one wonders if the author has decided to move on from these characters (although chances are they will appear in supporting/namedropping roles in future). vvv interested to see the film, and again, really hoping there's a huge budget for sets and costumes!

A non-Prancer book. Agreed that this was a lot of fun although some of the Astrid stuff was kind of boring. Clearly he realized from China Rich Girlfriend that Kitty was a comedy gold character too, so it's great that there was so much Kitty stuff in there too. I guess I assumed that the books were going to be a trilogy so this would be it, but maybe I was wrong? I can't wait to see the movie too!

One other recent read on a more serious note was Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. In the opening pages, James and Marilyn Lee's daughter Lydia has disappeared and shortly after is found dead. The rest of the novel is about how the family deals with her death and also involves some reflecting back on their lives. The novel is set in the 1970s and James is Chinese-American while Marilyn is Caucasian and that drives some of the tension, along with the ambitions Marilyn had to become a doctor. It's well-written, although definitely not a happy or uplifting novel.

 

[MsZem]

Kitty Pong is a delight, so I am happy to have more of her in Rich People Problems. Now if only the price would drop...

 

[Jenny]

I had the feeling this was the end for this particular set of characters

Spoiler

given the death of the family matriarch and fate of the family home.

I'm imagining that in his next book he'll introduce a new set of characters, but have them inhabit the same world, with some of these characters making appearances.

Hopefully that includes Eddie

 

[Prancer]

Apparently I put a bunch of books that Prancer read on hold at the library and they all came in at the same time

They seem to do that.

I thought this one was the best of the bunch that I read. Since I recall a struggle with describing the theme before, I thought the major theme seemed to be the trashing of the stand-in for Fox News.

I read a review of the book that said the major theme was toxic masculinity in all its modern forms. Looking back, yes, I think that's right. The Fox News storyline is part and parcel of that.

This one I found a little disappointing. I'm undecided if I would have been more invested in the police officer stuff if I had read the previous books. I felt like some of the plot twists came a little bit out of nowhere and the last one in particular seemed a little bit unnecessary and jammed in. It seemed a little vague in any event. And I thought the ending of Sally's story was rather abrupt and unsatisfying.

Agreed on all counts. I think this is the problem with having a great setup for a story--you have to back it up with a great finish and it so often doesn't happen.

This one's up next and I couldn't remember where it came from until I was scanning this thread. Looking forward to it now on my vacation!

Hope you like it; won't be annoyed if you don't .

I've been waiting for Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for months and it finally came in, just when I really don't have time to read it.

 

[Winnipeg]

Reading "A Stranger in the House" ok but a tad too predictable

 

[jeffisjeff]

I've been waiting for Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for months and it finally came in, just when I really don't have time to read it.

I just read that. It was OK, but I don't get why it got such amazing reviews.

 

[Erin]

I read a review of the book that said the major theme was toxic masculinity in all its modern forms. Looking back, yes, I think that's right. The Fox News storyline is part and parcel of that.

That makes a lot of sense. E.g. the uncle of the child survivor, the husband of the other couple on the plane both fit pretty well into that theme too.

Spoiler

And of course, the whole reason why the plane goes down is some pretty toxic masculinity.

About the only decent adult male character is the main character and it's pretty clear he wasn't always the greatest guy either.

This one definitely stuck with me longer than most of these types of books do, so I'd say that's a point in its favor. I didn't realize that this was Noah Hawley's fifth book - I'll probably seek out some of his others.

Oh and the one rather amusing thing about this book, I actually read it while I was on a plane...didn't occur to me until after I was done that perhaps a book about a plane crash wasn't the best choice of reading material for my flight, but obviously it didn't bother me at the time. At least I was reading an e-book so no one saw it.

I've been waiting for Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for months and it finally came in, just when I really don't have time to read it.

That's also a frequent problem I have And I know I'm not alone. At least the mystery/suspense ones were super quick reads, but I hate when something more meaty comes in that I've been waiting for and I don't have time to read it.

 

[Prancer]

That makes a lot of sense. E.g. the uncle of the child survivor, the husband of the other couple on the plane both fit pretty well into that theme too.

Spoiler

And of course, the whole reason why the plane goes down is some pretty toxic masculinity.

About the only decent adult male character is the main character and it's pretty clear he wasn't always the greatest guy either.

Yes and

Spoiler

that the cause of the plane crash, after all the posturing and carrying on about it, ends up being about such a petty, mundane thing really drove home the point of the pointlessness of it all, I think.

I still can't see how the movie is going to work . But since the author writes for television, maybe he can pull it off.

That's also a frequent problem I have And I know I'm not alone. At least the mystery/suspense ones were super quick reads, but I hate when something more meaty comes in that I've been waiting for and I don't have time to read it.

Yes, I hate it when some books go back unread, because I usually never get back to them, but that's the way it goes.

Maybe I'm not missing much with this one, though .

 

[pollyanna]

I just read that. It was OK, but I don't get why it got such amazing reviews.

I just read it too, and I agree. The real life story is riveting, but the book itself was not. It meandered a bit too much for me.

Also just finished Al Franken, Giant of the Senate. It's the story of how Franken went from stand up comedian to SNL writer to Senate candidate for Minnesota, up through his second term. Mildly amusing in places, I enjoyed it in part because I tend to agree with Franken on many things. Interesting take on some of our representatives in DC.

 

[made_in_canada]

My mother in law brought me a book she thought I would like. It's a Seventeen harlequin book . I'm not sure why she thought a teeny bopper harlequin would be something I'd enjoy, lol.

 

[MsZem]

My mother in law brought me a book she thought I would like. It's a Seventeen harlequin book . I'm not sure why she thought a teeny bopper harlequin would be something I'd enjoy, lol.

Do you mean Harlequin Teen? They publish YA in various genres, a lot of it dealing with social issues, mental health and family challenges, etc. I haven't read too many of their titles, but it's by no means just fluff. Though it might still not be your cup of tea...

 

[Winnipeg]

Reading the Alice Network, so far it is really good!

 

[SHARPIE]

For various reasons, I haven't read a lot this year. Anyway, I went on holiday, fired up my kindle and downloaded a few based on Amazon recommendations - I'm tired as I have been awake since 5am but my first comment on my holiday reads is on Sophie Kinsella - "My not so perfect life"


Read the first "shopaholic" and some other book by her around 15 years ago and was irritated then.

So I decided 15 years on to give her another chance and thought she may have grown out of her stupid "daft girl goes round in smug, annoying circles but in the end gets a brilliant job, hot man etc"

But no - fecking hell, how is this shit still being published? I could kick myself I spent money on it. She may as well end her fecking shit with, "then I woke up and it was all a dream"

Ugh I'd like to punch her in the face (I have never done that to anyone!)