A Book(s) Thread

[zoebartlett]

I'm late to the party, AND I haven't read the entire thread, but I have a few books that I've read recently and want to play!

After my children have read the Giver and City of Ember I finally read them both. Loved them so much that I finished out the series for both (wasn't that impressed with Prophet of Yonwood, but the others were good and fast reads).

I also have now read Matched and am soooooo close to just buying the whole trilogy as waiting for the library copies is taking FOREVER! Other books that I'm waiting for are:
Divergent trilogy (anyone liked that one?)
Book Thief
cinder

And several more.

Cozy, are these books all fantasy? I'm familiar with The Giver and City of Ember (although I haven't read CoE), but I don't know the other ones.

 

[zoebartlett]

Just finished Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith. It's my first foray into his "Sunday Philosophy Club" series, and I liked it enough to seek out other books in the series. (Especially since I'm up-to-date in his "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series.) I'm now particularly interested in the author and how he comes up with his stories. The lead character in both of these series are older women (though as it happens not quite as old as moi) and in some ways they have very different, but compatible views.

In the past week I also finished Marcia Muller's Looking for Yesterday, the latest book in the Sharon McCone series. There are many mystery series I've tried and quit quickly, and some I grow tired of over time, and others I stick with is spite of ups and downs just because I've grown fond of the characters. This is a series that I think is pretty consistently good, and that I just like.

At last week's rehearsal my choir director expressed particular satisfaction with the ending of a piece we were rehearsing when his wife volunteered that he had a particular fixation with endings (my words, not hers) - so much so that he always reads the end of a book first, then went back and started from the beginning. I'm not sure which thought come first to my mind - EEK - how could he read a book that way, or EEK - how could she possibly disclose something so personal about her husband? He blushed noticeably when she said this, and I'm guessing he's kind of glad that she's only joining us temporarily!

VR, I couldn't get through the first few pages of the 1st book in his No. 1 Ladies Detective series. I was excited when I found it because I was planning on reading that one and then borrowing the others from my mom right after, but I couldn't get into it. Maybe it was just because I had another book I really wanted to begin, so I put down his book for that one. I don't know. I should give it another try though. I hear his books are really good.

I used to read YA years ago but I've gotten out of touch with the genre. It seems like so much of it is fantasy and that's not really my cup of tea. I know her books are older now, but I love Cynthia Voight's books. She's one of my favorite YA authors.

 

[zoebartlett]

I've been reading a lot lately, and I seem to have been on a kick of dysfunctional marriage/relationship type books. Why, I do not know - they seem to be pretty popular in contemporary literature right now. I read:

I read both Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn) and the Silent Wife (A.S.A. Harrison) recently. Both books center around extremely dysfunctional relationships between a man/woman (and another woman). While I was interested enough to finish them, I much preferred Gone Girl to the Silent Wife. The Silent Wife seemed had no redeeming qualities to ANY of the characters in the book, and while I get that the point was to have you hate the characters (mission accomplished) I couldn't really figure out what the author's point of that was. I currently have another Gillian Flynn novel, Dark Places, here but I can't read it yet...I need a break from that literature!

I also just finished Labor Day - Joyce Maynard. I'm trying to read through all the books that are becoming big movies in 2014. This was a heartwarming book, but I found the timeframe of the story to be a little unbelievable. The whole book was a little underdeveloped - probably could have used another 50 pages to explain the sequences of events.

Currently I'm reading the first of the Divergent series by Veronica Roth - this series reminds me of the Hunger Games series. Since I'm only nearly finished book one, I can't say which series I like more, but I like the fast paced fantasy of it all. It really has given me a change of pace from the dark, disturbing literature I had been reading. I like both genres, but I need a break sometimes.

Next up (after I finish all the Divergents that is) is Where'd you go Bernadette, The Interestings, the Fault in our Stars, and Silver Linings Playbook.

Violet, I haven't heard of the Silent Wife but I felt the same way about Gone Girl as you did about the Silent Wife. I hated that book because I couldn't stand either of the main characters. I do kind of want to try reading Dark Places though to see if I like other books by Gillian Flynn. I want to see the movie, Labor Day. I didn't know it was a book. I should check it out.

 

[VRBeauty]

VR, I couldn't get through the first few pages of the 1st book in his No. 1 Ladies Detective series. I was excited when I found it because I was planning on reading that one and then borrowing the others from my mom right after, but I couldn't get into it. Maybe it was just because I had another book I really wanted to begin, so I put down his book for that one. I don't know. I should give it another try though. I hear his books are really good.

Alexander McCall Smith uses a very leisurely style of story-telling, with lots of interior dialogue and musings. Definitely not for every reader or mindset. Perfect for me as I ease my way into retirement though!

 

[zoebartlett]

VR, I couldn't get through the first few pages of the 1st book in his No. 1 Ladies Detective series. I was excited when I found it because I was planning on reading that one and then borrowing the others from my mom right after, but I couldn't get into it. Maybe it was just because I had another book I really wanted to begin, so I put down his book for that one. I don't know. I should give it another try though. I hear his books are really good.

Alexander McCall Smith uses a very leisurely style of story-telling, with lots of interior dialogue and musings. Definitely not for every reader or mindset. Perfect for me as I ease my way into retirement though!

Jealous! I read certain chick lit authors (in addition to authors of other genres), so I'm used to leisurely styles of story-telling. Maybe I'll try the first one in that series again.

 

[Cozystitches]

(snip) Giver and City of Ember......
Matched Other books that I'm waiting for are:
Divergent trilogy (anyone liked that one?)
Book Thief
cinder

Cozy, are these books all fantasy? I'm familiar with The Giver and City of Ember (although I haven't read CoE), but I don't know the other ones.

Divergent I'm told is similar to Hunger Games so sci-fi?
Book Thief is more historical fiction from reading the back info.

To edit my previous post, I sucked it up and am reading the second book of Matched (that is Crossed) and I'm trying not to read it too quickly, I LOVE it!

 

[violet3]

duplicate post. sorry!

 

[violet3]

Violet, I haven't heard of the Silent Wife but I felt the same way about Gone Girl as you did about the Silent Wife. I hated that book because I couldn't stand either of the main characters. I do kind of want to try reading Dark Places though to see if I like other books by Gillian Flynn. I want to see the movie, Labor Day. I didn't know it was a book. I should check it out.

My personal opinion - DON'T read the Silent Wife. It's pretty much like gone girl without the pull and the intrigue of the plot and the characters are even more sad if that is possible

Labor Day was good - worth a read. The mother has some issues - she is a shut in more or less. The story is told from the perspective of her 13 year old son. I love novels with adolescent narrators, and this one had such an endearing voice to it. As I mentioned, the plot development could have been better, but I think part of that was intentional. The mind of a 13 year old is obviously different than that of an adult. It was an easy read with very likeable characters. I'm excited to see the movie too.

 

[violet3]

(snip) Giver and City of Ember......
Matched Other books that I'm waiting for are:
Divergent trilogy (anyone liked that one?)
Book Thief
cinder

Cozy, are these books all fantasy? I'm familiar with The Giver and City of Ember (although I haven't read CoE), but I don't know the other ones.

Divergent I'm told is similar to Hunger Games so sci-fi?
Book Thief is more historical fiction from reading the back info.

To edit my previous post, I sucked it up and am reading the second book of Matched (that is Crossed) and I'm trying not to read it too quickly, I LOVE it!

I'm almost done book 1 of Divergent - so good. I hear that the series deteriorates after the first book, but I'm going to give the others a try anyway. The first book is very similar to Hunger Games, in both fantasy and fast paced reading. It's a page turner!

Book Theif. Read it! It was my favorite book that I read last year. It's beautifully written and the main character is just endearing, even in a time of hopelessness. It is historical fiction - not fantasy in any way - and it is so good.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

(snip) Giver and City of Ember......
Matched Other books that I'm waiting for are:
Divergent trilogy (anyone liked that one?)
Book Thief
cinder

Cozy, are these books all fantasy? I'm familiar with The Giver and City of Ember (although I haven't read CoE), but I don't know the other ones.

Divergent I'm told is similar to Hunger Games so sci-fi?
Book Thief is more historical fiction from reading the back info.

To edit my previous post, I sucked it up and am reading the second book of Matched (that is Crossed) and I'm trying not to read it too quickly, I LOVE it!

I'm almost done book 1 of Divergent - so good. I hear that the series deteriorates after the first book, but I'm going to give the others a try anyway. The first book is very similar to Hunger Games, in both fantasy and fast paced reading. It's a page turner!

Book Theif. Read it! It was my favorite book that I read last year. It's beautifully written and the main character is just endearing, even in a time of hopelessness. It is historical fiction - not fantasy in any way - and it is so good.

I almost bought Divergent a few weeks ago, but purchased Enclave instead, but haven't started it. The movie of Divergent comes out on March 21st - unless that's changed - I made a list and put it on my fridge...might need to be updated, anyway...just need to have the book finished before the movie comes out.

 

[minousbijoux]

I have a question for all of you regular and knowledgable readers which I'm a bit embarrassed even to ask. My older son is really into the Game of Thrones books and has read them all - I don't know much about it other than that they made a tv series off the books and might it be described as Fantasy fiction? In any case, he is home and bored and I was thinking if I could find other similar genre good books I might get him reading. Any ideas?

 

[violet3]

(snip) Giver and City of Ember......
Matched Other books that I'm waiting for are:
Divergent trilogy (anyone liked that one?)
Book Thief
cinder

Cozy, are these books all fantasy? I'm familiar with The Giver and City of Ember (although I haven't read CoE), but I don't know the other ones.

Divergent I'm told is similar to Hunger Games so sci-fi?
Book Thief is more historical fiction from reading the back info.

To edit my previous post, I sucked it up and am reading the second book of Matched (that is Crossed) and I'm trying not to read it too quickly, I LOVE it!

I'm almost done book 1 of Divergent - so good. I hear that the series deteriorates after the first book, but I'm going to give the others a try anyway. The first book is very similar to Hunger Games, in both fantasy and fast paced reading. It's a page turner!

Book Theif. Read it! It was my favorite book that I read last year. It's beautifully written and the main character is just endearing, even in a time of hopelessness. It is historical fiction - not fantasy in any way - and it is so good.

I almost bought Divergent a few weeks ago, but purchased Enclave instead, but haven't started it. The movie of Divergent comes out on March 21st - unless that's changed - I made a list and put it on my fridge...might need to be updated, anyway...just need to have the book finished before the movie comes out.

MC, that's why I read it too - I wanted to read it before the movie was released. The movie looks like it will be good! I highly recommend the book - what my friends have said is that the first one is great, the second one is ok, and the third one is not good. If nothing else, the first one was a fascinating concept and a great read I thought.

EDIT: I found this online recently and I have been reading some of these books that are to be released in movie form this year. I don't like to read a book after I've seen the movie. I just won't do it. So here are the top 16 books to read before they are released as movies. http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/books-to-read-before-they-hit-theaters-this-year

 

[blackprophet]

I have a question for all of you regular and knowledgable readers which I'm a bit embarrassed even to ask. My older son is really into the Game of Thrones books and has read them all - I don't know much about it other than that they made a tv series off the books and might it be described as Fantasy fiction? In any case, he is home and bored and I was thinking if I could find other similar genre good books I might get him reading. Any ideas?

Not sure if there is anything really similar to them out there, but a few suggestions are:

Prince of nothing Series By R Scott Bakker: I really liked these books, and they are full of intruige and some interesting sub plots. But I did suggest this to another fantasy reader and they didn't like it FWIW.

Lord of The Rings: Has he seen the movies? These books might be of interest.

Night Angel Trillogy by Brent Weeks- I was surprised I liked this series so much, but it has more of a adventure side to it than a court intruige side to it.

 

[Gypsy]

I have a question for all of you regular and knowledgable readers which I'm a bit embarrassed even to ask. My older son is really into the Game of Thrones books and has read them all - I don't know much about it other than that they made a tv series off the books and might it be described as Fantasy fiction? In any case, he is home and bored and I was thinking if I could find other similar genre good books I might get him reading. Any ideas?

Night Angel Trillogy by Brent Weeks- I was surprised I liked this series so much, but it has more of a adventure side to it than a court intruige side to it.

That is one of my favorite all time series. Highly recommend. His new series is also awesome. But not finished yet. Still, highly recommend.

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan is excellent.

I would also recommend Patrick Rothfuss's KingKiller series. Though it is not finished yet.

Deathgate Cycle (series) by Wiess and Hickman
Ryria revelations by Michael Sullivan and the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan are great.

The Legend of Eli MonPress series by Rachel Aaron was good too. I'd give that one 4 stars.

 

[Gypsy]

TOTALLY forgot.

Robert Jordan Wheel of Time series is probably one of the closest to the Game of Thrones.

And Brendan Sanderson (who finished the Wheel of Time when Jordan passed), has a lot of books that get great reviews. I've read him and consider him very solid and have no issue recommending him.

But those are probably the closest to the Game of Thrones.

 

[blackprophet]

TOTALLY forgot.

Robert Jordan Wheel of Time series is probably one of the closest to the Game of Thrones.

And Brendan Sanderson (who finished the Wheel of Time when Jordan passed), has a lot of books that get great reviews. I've read him and consider him very solid and have no issue recommending him.

But those are probably the closest to the Game of Thrones.

Gypsy, You are a woman of my own heart.

You should read the War of the Spider Queen Series. 6 books, but it was really great.

 

[Gypsy]

Gypsy, You are a woman of my own heart.

You should read the War of the Spider Queen Series. 6 books, but it was really great.

I was just thinking that we are kindred, and I should ask you for some book recommendations!

Off to check out the War of the Spider Queen now. 6 books is perfect. I like series as long as they are good. At the rate I read at (about a book a day) a nice medium sized series with 6 books will keep me happy for a week!!

 

[violet3]

Has anyone read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series? If so, what did you think?

 

[VRBeauty]

Currently about 2/3 of the way through "The Nancies" by Sue Pearson, a local author. It's "a novel based on a true story" about a group of women in the Civil War who formed a militia to protect their small Southern town while the town's men were off to war. It's not the best writing I've ever read, but it is a very readable telling of an interesting story. And - bonus! - I'm going to an author signing this afternoon, so I get to hear more about how she built a story around the historical facts she dug up in her research. The author is a journalist by profession, and a direct descendant of one of three of three sisters who were part of the militia.

 

[minousbijoux]

I have a question for all of you regular and knowledgable readers which I'm a bit embarrassed even to ask. My older son is really into the Game of Thrones books and has read them all - I don't know much about it other than that they made a tv series off the books and might it be described as Fantasy fiction? In any case, he is home and bored and I was thinking if I could find other similar genre good books I might get him reading. Any ideas?

Not sure if there is anything really similar to them out there, but a few suggestions are:

Prince of nothing Series By R Scott Bakker: I really liked these books, and they are full of intruige and some interesting sub plots. But I did suggest this to another fantasy reader and they didn't like it FWIW.

Lord of The Rings: Has he seen the movies? These books might be of interest.

Night Angel Trillogy by Brent Weeks- I was surprised I liked this series so much, but it has more of a adventure side to it than a court intruige side to it.

Thank you so much bp!

 

[minousbijoux]

And thank you too, Gypsy!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

(snip) Giver and City of Ember......
Matched Other books that I'm waiting for are:
Divergent trilogy (anyone liked that one?)
Book Thief
cinder

Cozy, are these books all fantasy? I'm familiar with The Giver and City of Ember (although I haven't read CoE), but I don't know the other ones.

Divergent I'm told is similar to Hunger Games so sci-fi?
Book Thief is more historical fiction from reading the back info.

To edit my previous post, I sucked it up and am reading the second book of Matched (that is Crossed) and I'm trying not to read it too quickly, I LOVE it!

I'm almost done book 1 of Divergent - so good. I hear that the series deteriorates after the first book, but I'm going to give the others a try anyway. The first book is very similar to Hunger Games, in both fantasy and fast paced reading. It's a page turner!

Book Theif. Read it! It was my favorite book that I read last year. It's beautifully written and the main character is just endearing, even in a time of hopelessness. It is historical fiction - not fantasy in any way - and it is so good.

I almost bought Divergent a few weeks ago, but purchased Enclave instead, but haven't started it. The movie of Divergent comes out on March 21st - unless that's changed - I made a list and put it on my fridge...might need to be updated, anyway...just need to have the book finished before the movie comes out.

MC, that's why I read it too - I wanted to read it before the movie was released. The movie looks like it will be good! I highly recommend the book - what my friends have said is that the first one is great, the second one is ok, and the third one is not good. If nothing else, the first one was a fascinating concept and a great read I thought.

EDIT: I found this online recently and I have been reading some of these books that are to be released in movie form this year. I don't like to read a book after I've seen the movie. I just won't do it. So here are the top 16 books to read before they are released as movies. http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/books-to-read-before-they-hit-theaters-this-year

That's where I got the movie-release date from...same website! It was a handy reference for making a list of must-see movies and/or reads for this year.

I'll be sure to buy the first of Divergent but maybe get the other two from the library. I have so many partially read books stacked up and need to break that habit.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I have a question for all of you regular and knowledgable readers which I'm a bit embarrassed even to ask. My older son is really into the Game of Thrones books and has read them all - I don't know much about it other than that they made a tv series off the books and might it be described as Fantasy fiction? In any case, he is home and bored and I was thinking if I could find other similar genre good books I might get him reading. Any ideas?

Not sure if there is anything really similar to them out there, but a few suggestions are:

Prince of nothing Series By R Scott Bakker: I really liked these books, and they are full of intruige and some interesting sub plots. But I did suggest this to another fantasy reader and they didn't like it FWIW.

Lord of The Rings: Has he seen the movies? These books might be of interest.

Night Angel Trillogy by Brent Weeks- I was surprised I liked this series so much, but it has more of a adventure side to it than a court intruige side to it.

I would also suggest Lord of the Rings.

My husband has read all of the GoT books and he didn't have any recommendations even though he's read all of Tolkien's books, too, so I guess it depends on perspective. I read the Lord of the Rings series and read about 1/2 of the first Game of Throne's books and was bored out of my mind with all of them, so they all are about the same, IMO. I love the TV show, though...

 

[Gypsy]

Has anyone read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series? If so, what did you think?

I started it. I was at Barnes and Noble for a few hours on day and this was recommended to me since I like Graceling.

I got a good hour into the first. And usually if I do that I can't walk away. But I was totally able to with this book. Don't know why as there were no glaring flaws, but it just didn't keep my interest.

 

[AGBF]

I'm just back on my Vince Flynn treadmill, but enjoying him much more now after a little break to read Practical Magic and Because of Mr. Terupt (which I mentioned I did above in this thread). I read Memorial Day and am now reading Consent to Kill. His right wing politics nauseate me, but his writing gets better over time and I have now gotten to his later books. I think that the action is faster, and, sadly, that is all that I am reading them for after all.

I can't wait for another funny Brian Haig book or another good Nelson DeMille book featuring John Corey. I need a protagonist who makes me laugh. Or someone with heart. I really love almost everything that Thomas Perry writes, even though I started out reading the books about his female Indian (Native American) guide, Jane Whitefield, who helps people to disappear. She is still my favorite, but I even love the for-contract killers he creates. He manages to make them sympathetic!!! he is truly an amazing author!

Another forum I frequent reminded me of a series I used to read by an author who wrote about two policemen in the Southwest. I don't know if we ever discussed it here before, but I had forgotten it until the books came up for discussion there. I used to love them. They are by Tony Hillerman and feature Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Sgt.Jim Chee of the Navajo Police who operate on a Navajo reservation in Arizona. They were award winning and full or interesting information about the Navajo culture.

AGBF

 

[zoebartlett]

I began Mad About the Boy, Helen Fielding's latest book with her character, Bridget Jones. I only got about 100 pages in before I put it down in favor for a Nora Roberts book. I just couldn't get into it. I felt that way abut Fielding's second book about Bridget Jones, but I plowed through it anyway.

Now I'm reading Vision in White, the first book in Robert's The Bride Quartet series. It's a quick read and I'm almost halfway through it already. It's pretty good so far.

 

[VRBeauty]

Another forum I frequent reminded me of a series I used to read by an author who wrote about two policemen in the Southwest. I don't know if we ever discussed it here before, but I had forgotten it until the books came up for discussion there. I used to love them. They are by Tony Hillerman and feature Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Sgt.Jim Chee of the Navajo Police who operate on a Navajo reservation in Arizona. They were award winning and full or interesting information about the Navajo culture.

AGBF

Loved this series! Well worth reading, and because there are plot lines that continue from book to book, well worth reading in sequence.

 

[violet3]

I'll be sure to buy the first of Divergent but maybe get the other two from the library. I have so many partially read books stacked up and need to break that habit.

I'm almost through the second book of the Divergent series (Insurgent). As a friend told me, it's not nearly as captivating as the first book, but the second half is significantly better than the first half. I'm sure I'll read the third book (Allegiant) even though I'm told that the third book isn't great. Overall, I really like the series!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'll be sure to buy the first of Divergent but maybe get the other two from the library. I have so many partially read books stacked up and need to break that habit.

I'm almost through the second book of the Divergent series (Insurgent). As a friend told me, it's not nearly as captivating as the first book, but the second half is significantly better than the first half. I'm sure I'll read the third book (Allegiant) even though I'm told that the third book isn't great. Overall, I really like the series!

That's good that you like it. My son is now reading the other book I got (Enclave) and I'm almost done with Shanghai Girls and not sure if I'll read the sequel now or try Divergent next.

Shanghai Girls has some interesting/informative historical info, but the last third of the book sort of rushes ahead a bit more like a summary with skipping ahead in years of the characters' lives...It is a good book, though...worth at least trying out for anyone interested in that genre.

 

[VRBeauty]

Just finished A Bat in the Belfry, the latest in Sarah Graves's "home repair is murder" series. As you can probably guess, this series fits fairly well in the "cozy mystery" genre (although the author has thrown in a heavy dose of suspense into most of the books) but I think they're written better and more consistently good than a lot of series in this genre. The series revolves around Jake (Jacobia) Tiptree, a Manhattan financial advisor who has moved to a small island/town in Maine, and weaves the murders around her efforts to restore an old house.

Sarah Graves's website indicates that she's working on a new series of three books. I'm wondering if she's going to spin that series around a character she introduced in this book. That would make for a good series, but I'm kind of hoping she'll surprise us with something totally different instead.