ŷ������

Just finished 5 stars

I liked that as well, and was interested enough in her relationship with the Hyde Park Roosevelts to read , which I also enjoyed.

Finished ⭐⭐��
I feel that this book could have been so much more. I liked the premise and I get where the author was going but I just didn't enjoy it.

Bonnie wrote: "I will be reading with an in person bookclub (too) and which I've been holding off on so I can include it with the color challen..."

also finished Winter Solstice, but it didn't grab me.

Bonnie wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "I will be reading with an in person bookclub (too) and which I've been holding off on so I can include it with th..."

I remember really liking Solstice but you are the third or fourth person I've seen here who didn't much like it. Maybe it's not aging well. I found that to be the case with Dominick Dunne's books, which I loved when they first came out and now can't finish.

Jennifer wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "I will be reading with an in person bookclub (too) and which I've been holding off on so I can inc..."

I think I was actually confusing Pilcher with Binchy when I put it on my tbr list- was wanting it as a feel good comfort read- and the characters didn't seem right (good) to me.

ah. Binchy is definitely more feel-good in my opinion. I like that about her too!

Finished my first two books.

💖💖💖 a dark new adult romance, had one interesting twist that was glossed over at the end. Oh well plenty of similar books out there 🤷🏼‍♀��

💖💖💖💖💖 heart breaking, sobering, yet shows the tenacity of the human spirit to survive.

Good progress, Beth!

Lindsey wrote: "My picks: "

I finished . I ended up giving it 3 stars. It took me a minute to figure out how to rate and review this book. I was so angry over the ending. It’s been a minute since a book has evoked that strong of emotion out of me. Not completely sure if that means the author did a stellar job with this book or I was that disgusted over the story, lol. I had to keep reminding myself this was a fictional book. And that might be one of the reasons I was so angry - because I can see this scenario playing out in real life. Either way, the book is thought provoking,

Hmmmm. Your comments made me go look at some of the other reviews and it seems no one is neutral about this book!

Jennifer wrote: "Hmmmm. Your comments made me go look at some of the other reviews and it seems no one is neutral about this book!"

I did this as a buddy read. What's interesting is this book sparks alot of conversation. I still dont know if the authorndid an amazinf job making me so angry or not. Lol. Review are all over the place, so I would say give it a try and see how you like it.

I'm reading The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin, which is excellent so far!

Never heard of that, Pam. I just looked it up and it sounds like an interesting read!

Michelle wrote: ""

Finished The Perfect Mother
⭐⭐��

I remember all the hype that surrounded this book when I bought it. All the talk about it being adapted for film starring Kerri Washington.

The book is written in a confessional style rotating between the different women of the May Mothers group. Sometimes having alternate narrators allows the author to ratchet up the tension. Having the reader question everything on the page. Which narrator is unreliable and who's telling the truth. The problem here was that I had trouble distinguishing between the different women's voices.

finished 5 stars

Michelle wrote: ""

was another hit by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. So far I have loved every book written by this duo. Definitely recommend!

was a good read. Deals with the aftermath of suicide. Not an uplifting book but did have a twist at the end. 3 STARS for me.

Y'all are really screwing up my TBR.

Finished two more of my color Challenge Books, on a roll.

my third book, Four by Four by Sara Mesa 💖💖💖1/2
Still trying to process this strange read. The GR page has few reviews or ratings, tagged science fiction/ dystopian/ science fiction-fantasy along with tags like Spanish, gothic, horror, literary fiction. My best “classification�� is Bizarre Dysfunctional Spanish Gothic. Science Fiction classification would depend on the reader’s interpretation.

Set in three sections, the first is multiple POVs of occupants of the “school��, the second is a “diary�� of a substitute teacher, and the third is the writing another teacher who no longer is at the school. This is translated but I think some of my issues were not due to the translation but my lack of understanding of some of the author’s influences. Curious to see if anyone else has tried this. I need to digest this and possibly reread. Highly recommend to readers of mystery, horror, psychological thriller, literary fiction. Hard to pigeon hole this read. Something for everyone, weather you like it, love it or hate it.

The fourth read The People in the Photo by Hélène Gestern is just as amazing in a second read. Still an engrossing 💖💖💖💖 read. Writing style and the choice to make this epistolary was brilliant. A fast paced read that connects you with the two MCs as they try to solve the mystery surrounding their parents. Definitely deserved all the awards heaped on the book.

Finished my second pick:
A Room Full of Bones, #4 in Elly Griffiths's series featuring archaeologist Ruth Galloway. Not my favourite of the series so far as there was a lot going on, plus Ruth wasn't involved in any investigations.

review: /review/show...

Carolyn wrote: "Finished my second pick:
A Room Full of Bones, #4 in Elly Griffiths's series featuring archaeologist Ruth Galloway. Not m..."

I'm reading that series (just starting.) I've read the first and a short and have the 2nd/3rd on kindle waiting. I'll be interested to see how I eventually like 4 compared with the others.

I've only read #1 of that series as well, although I have some of the others and a good friend of mine in another group loves it. We have similar tastes so I'm sure I'll like them as well.

Pam wrote: "I'm reading The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin, which is excellent so far!
"

This does sound interesting and I haven’t heard of it. I just started and have on my TBR

〰️����ٳ�〰️ wrote: "Finished two more of my color Challenge Books, on a roll.

my third book, Four by Four by Sara Mesa 💖💖💖1/2
Still trying to process ..."

I wound up putting "The People in the Photo" on my TBR....thanks, I think?

Finished my white/dark gray color for January:


I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - 4* - My Review

Don't you love it when a PIFM also works for the color challenge, Joy?

Lindsey wrote: "My picks: "

I finished . Good story. I gave it 4 stars. Now off to tackle my last book pick!

Michelle wrote: "Michelle wrote: ""

was another hit by Greer Hendricks and [aut..."

This is good to hear!!! I'm about to start this book.

I finished mine, 3.5* and I also love when a PIFM helps the colour challenge. White Nights

Finished , gave it 2 stars.

Finished a "bonus book" for January's white/dark gray cover:


The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis - 1* - My Review

I've never been able to warm up to that author either, Joy.

Finished my white selection - excellent book. Almost as good as the team it’s about

Lance wrote: "Finished my white selection - excellent book. Almost as good as the team it’s about"

My ex-husband, still a good friend, is a die-hard Dolphins fan. And for the last dozen years or more, the dying has been hard indeed, LOL -- somehow made worse by having to measure themselves against a yardstick no other team is saddled with.

Lindsey wrote: "My picks: "

I finished my last pick - The Golden Couple. 4 stars. A good domestic thriller.

Just finished .
My review can be found here:
/review/show...

Finished , gave it 4 stars.
This book will take you on a journey about Michael J Fox's early life and his battle with Parkinson's Disease. I have been a fan of Michael J Fox since his tv series Family Ties and was just a shocked as everyone when he announced his battle with his disease. This book was entertaining as well as inspiring.

Michelle, yours just made it onto my TBR. Lindsey, Brennans and Golden are on my list too and I'm hoping to get to them this year. Denise, agree re MJF even though I'm dating myself when I admit I saw him on Family Ties when it was on prime-time!! LOL

Finished . ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Michelle wrote: "Just finished .
My review can be found here:
/review/show..."

Adding this to the TBR, thank you, Michelle!

I've completed , it's 10 short stories about a single family across generations. Enjoyed it very much.

I finished my picks:
A good WWII historical, which I always both love and find stressful.
A feel-good romance, also somewhat historical, enjoyed it.
I hadn't realized that she started showing Alzheimer symptoms in her early 40s. YIKES!
One of my favorite series and alas I'm now all caught up...
My sig other lost a son last summer to addiction, so this was a pretty personal read for me -- I'm somewhere between admiring the author for being able to focus so much on the good things about his grandson and irritated because I **KNOW** the situation was not as easy to get through as this book sometimes makes it sound. Today would have been Michael's 30th birthday. These situations have landmines.

Managed to finish my final selection for the month, 3.5 but rounded up. The alternating story lines were disjointed at times but overall interesting speculative fiction on how technology can influence our lives. Especially when it lurkers in a cute robotic animal.

Jennifer wrote: "I finished my picks:
A good WWII historical, which I always both love and find stressful.
A feel-good romance, also..."

I'm sure that the Dave Kindred book was a challenging read.

It was. But I appreciated it because it lifted his grandson out of the one-dimensional role of "addict." It's very easy to view a dead addict as nothing more than that -- a hanger-on, a marginal person who is inherently weak, a drain on society, a criminal who got what was inevitable. Easy to dismiss. I've been guilty of that myself.

But my sig oth's son Michael got addicted by a prescription drug after a sports injury - before that he'd never even smoked pot, and didn't even hang out with his teammates (outside of their games) because they all did. He struggled with it, and had beaten it for several years, but it was like Churchill's black dog -- always there in the periphery. I'm not excusing him. He had every horrifying addict behavior there is for awhile -- crime, lying, stealing from his family, breaking their hearts. (In fact, it was because of the crime that I got to know him -- he was in jail, and was a trustee cleaning our building when we started talking to each other.)

I'm of two minds about Kindred's accomplishment. I think it's important to remember that there is always more to a person's story than the dismount -- particularly when so many addicted Americans got there because of prescribed opioids. But those "my kid is different" stories -- including the one I told about the incident in my own family above! -- also reinforce the stereotype that most addicts are "hangers on, marginal people, etc." because there's an implicit "don't lump my kid in with the rest of them" in all those tales. So those stories both help and hinder.

I finished my selection for January.
... really enjoyed it & wavered between 4 & 5 stars so I suppose 4.5 stars.

Wow, Martha, I hadn't even heard of that book! (Adding it.....)