Coffee & Books discussion
Bookish!
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What are you reading?
I just finished Maus I and am starting Maus II tonight!! I gave it 5 stars loved it!Currently listening to A Fall of Marigolds, liking it so far!
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
A Man Called Ove � Fredrik Backman � 5
What a joy this book is! Backman peoples the novel with an assortment of quirky characters, who form a community, and despite himself, Ove joins with them. I laughed aloud so often, and I felt for Ove’s. I also rejoiced at his triumphs, and marveled at his strength of character. I worried about him and cheered him on. I absolutely fell in love with Ove.
LINK to my review
- Currently reading
- Currently listening to
I'm a multi-reader , trying to cut down to one but it is difficultMy current reads:
- historical romance with time travel which I'm enjoying
- second poetry book of the month
Death Masks � Jim Butcher � 3.5***
I like this series mostly because I really like Harry. I love his puns and his self-deprecating humor. I like that he’s a decent guy who inflicts violence on the bad guys, and generally behaves like a gentleman. However, as I continue the series I find the plots more and more formulaic, although this installment has a few plot twists and some characters that lend additional interest.
LINK to my review
HUMAN by Hayley Camille, a ŷ giveaway for honest review.
I just finished
which I thought was an eye opener especially for people who have not lived around hillbillies or the poor. Personally the author bored me after awhile…but it is good for people to hear about his story.I really liked
about 3 different women, one a NY socialite, one a German doctor, and the other a young Polish girl. It tells the story of how their lives collide during WWII and it is based on true events.I am almost finished with
which I think is a very good book. It shows how the poor are severely taken advantage of and how some of their landlords treat them. It is a study on two different landlords and a some of their tenants. It's sad how some poor will never dig their way out of extreme poverty.For fun I am reading
I always enjoy her sweet romances for an easy read.This weekend I will also finish
which I put aside for awhile. I love the idea of the story but I got stuck with all the names and history of some people who are not "part" of the story. I hear it gets better so I am looking forward to that.
I highly recommend Our Revolution: A Future to Believe in for people interested in the problems facing American society today. My review can be found here.
Days Of Awe � Lauren Fox � 4****
This is the kind of character-driven novel I really enjoy. As Isabel reflects on past events and her relationships with best friend, daughter, mother, and ex-husband, the reader comes to know her. I felt her confusion, pain, loss, loneliness, but also her joy and hope for the future.
LINK to my review
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, No One Knows by J.T. Ellison, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, The Posessions by Sara Flanders Murphy, AND The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
I also forgot Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer lol I've been sick in bed so I'm binge-reading various books
while thin air is great- nightingale is best that I have read in awhile- get me sick like you so I can read 4 books
I need everyone to stop what they're doing and read Soulmates by Jessica Grove. Or even West of Eden by Jean Stein. :) That is all!
Alissa wrote: "listening to Behind Closed Doors and I HATE it- going to be my first 1 star of the year.My actual books are going much better- Uprooted, [book:The Day of the Triff..."
Oh my gosh! This hurts my feelings! Lol. I listened to it on audiobook and I truly struggled with it. It picked up EVENTUALLY and the ending was... Whew. But I feel the writing didn't make up for a merely 'okay' book.
Exodus � Leon Uris � 3.5***
This is an epic novel covering the history of the Jewish people’s efforts to return to Palestine and form an independent state. I felt that Uris couldn’t make up his mind whether he was writing an epic romance, a war novel or a history of the formation of Israel. It certainly made me think. And I’m glad I finally read this novel.
LINK to my review
Feb 18 - Currently ReadingTEXT -
Old Dogs / Donna MooreAUDIO in the car -
The Quiet American / Graham GreeneMP3 Player AUDIO -
The Minor Adjustment Beauty SalonAlexander McCall Smith
The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle, and The Bear and the Nightinggale by Katherine Arden, courtesy of Netgalley.
One Plus One � Jojo Moyes � 3***
Four different characters tell the story: Jess, Ed, Tanzie (Jess’s daughter) and Nicky (Marty’s son and Jess’s stepson). This resulted in a slow start, while all the characters were introduced and the central conflict developed. The book jacket promises “an irresistible love story.� I don’t know about “irresistible� but it’s an enjoyable contemporary novel.
LINK to my review
Am now reading To Kill a Mockingbird, that's been on my TBR for almost a decade I think
The FitzOsbornes in Exile � Michelle Cooper � 3***
This is book two in a series about the royal family of the fictitious island nation of Montmaray. It’s a fast read, an easy young adult novel about the beginning of World War II. The British social class of the late 1930s is described well, including the debutante season. I liked this one better than the first in the series. The characters are better developed, and I enjoy reading about strong, resourceful, intelligent young people.
LINK to my review
Sarah wrote: "Am now reading To Kill a Mockingbird that's been on my TBR for almost a decade I think"My favorite book of all time!
Nothing To Do But Stay � Carrie Young � 4****
The subtitle is “My Pioneer Mother,� and much of this memoir features Young’s mother Carrine Gafkjen Berg. But this is really the story of a family’s experiences in the early 20th century in North Dakota. Rather than a strictly chronological order, the book is divided into chapters by subject. All are full of wonderful, loving descriptions of life on a settler’s farm, some funny, some touchingly poignant.
LINK to my review
The Quiet American � Graham Greene � 3***
This has been cited as the quintessential book about Vietnam, especially the conflict begun with the French war. I don’t know if I would agree, but it’s definitely a good book about what was happening in the country during the mid-1950s. The reader gets some inkling of the politics of the era, but is more consumed by the personal drama of these two men and the Vietnamese woman they both say they love.
LINK to my review
Old Dogs � Donna Moore � 3***
A pair of seventy-something-year-old ex-hookers turned con-artists scheme to steal two antique be-jeweled Tibetan dog statuettes. But they are not alone in wanting those dogs. This is a comic crime caper that reminds me of Donald E Westlake or Carl Hiaasen. The characters are outrageous, the plot is ridiculous, but the whole package is great fun to read.
LINK to my review
Just finished The Great Gatsby - 4****One Amazing Elephant - 1*
Rereading 1984 & reading Alice Adams for the first time.
I just finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist. It was great; inisghtful. Just starting Remembering Babylon
Under the Wide and Starry Sky � Nancy Horan � 2.5**
This work of historical fiction tells the story of the relationship of Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne and Robert Louis Stevenson. Once again Horan turns her attentions to a man who was difficult to live with, and a woman who was conflicted about her life with that man. It should have been interesting, but this book somehow failed to capture me. The best part was their lives in Samoa, only about 100 pages in a nearly 500-page book.
LINK to my review
I'm on a bit of a "books of my childhood" kick at the moment. I'm rereading the Goosebumps and Romana Quimby series. Also making my way thru "The Hardy Boys" series because I've never read them. I was much too big of a Nancy Drew fan to have much time for anything else.
The Wizard of Nod by Anthony Jones. And Lisey's Story by Stephen King.
The Vicious Vet � M.C. Beaton � 3***
Book two in the popular Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series. I was not a fan of the first Agatha Raisin book, but she’s growing on me. One of the review blurbs calls Agatha “a glorious cross between Miss Marple, Auntie Mame, and Lucille Ball, with a tad of pit bull tossed in� (St Petersburg Times). I’m beginning to see that combination here, and I’m starting to appreciate the humor in Agatha’s character.
LINK to my review
Station Eleven � Emily St John Mandel � 4****
The snow falling on Toronto gives the city a peaceful look, but the hysteria caused by a spreading plague that kills within days cannot be stopped. Dystopian or postapocalyptic novels are really not my thing, but I found this novel quite interesting. Mandel moves back and forth in time, and from character to character, keeping the reader off balance.
LINK to my review
I just finished Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs It is excellent and I think it is a book everyone should read. It is a real eye opener about our war on drugs and how there may be better ways. Here is my review:/review/show...
Coffee & Books
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Breathing Lessons � Anne Tyler � 4****
I’ve had this on my TBR for ages, and just never got to it. I wish I hadn’t waited so long, but then again, maybe my own years of marriage help me better understand Maggie and Ira’s relationship. I love the way Tyler reveals her characters to the reader. Their actions � small and large � and statements show the reader who these people are. Their hopes, dreams, frustrations, and regrets become evident over the course of the novel. Their lives may be ordinary; the novel is anything but.
LINK to my review