|
|
Post by Emily.Postal on Jul 23, 2016 10:36:42 GMT -5
Toss in a book name, and its author, after you've read the book, briefly pick or pan. Join in and we have a running list of book suggestions! Hint: One book title per post allows posters to comment individually on a book without confusion. Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. –P.J. O’Rourke |
|
|
|
Post by Emily.Postal on Jul 23, 2016 10:38:10 GMT -5
I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around by Ann Garvin
"Psychologist Tig Monahan is watching her mother, Hallie, slowly lose her mind to Alzheimer's.... Garvin's wit and sensitivity keep her in full control of the emotional subject matter. Pinpoint details and realistic characterizations of Tig's internal strife firmly situate readers in this eccentric, endearing story of a family coming together to face the ravages of Alzheimer's." --Publishers Weekly
Fiction, great summer read. I loved it. Set in southern Wisconsin.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emily.Postal on Jul 23, 2016 10:40:42 GMT -5
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
The book "takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?"
ME: Non-fiction, I loved it and I put his other two books on hold - The Tipping Point and Blink.
Wonderful easy to digest food for thought.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emily.Postal on Jul 23, 2016 10:44:17 GMT -5
My Brilliant Friend: Neapolitan Novels, Book One by Elena Ferrante
"A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship."
ME: Fiction from Italy in the 50s and 60s. I felt like I was watching a black and white movie from the early 60s. It was fascinating but the characters are not lovable. I was so fascinated I've started the second book and have three and four on a waiting list.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emily.Postal on Jul 23, 2016 10:45:27 GMT -5
The Girl on the Train (2015) is a psychological thriller novel by British author Paula Hawkins.
ME: Thrillers aren't my thing but I loved this. Total page turner.
|
|
|
|
Post by gemster on Jul 23, 2016 11:07:58 GMT -5
Thank you Emily.Postal I'm going to download my brilliant friend & girl on a train to read on vacation. I remember we had brilliant friend as a possible book club book, it didn't get enough votes but I really liked the sound of it so thanks for the reminder. I've been reading civil war books lately recommended by Cyn they were excellent but I'm sure not everyone's cup of tea though I'll do a review if anyone does like that kind of thing. The other one I've read recently (memorial) has already been pretty well covered here  |
|
|
|
Post by balancedlife on Jul 23, 2016 12:18:03 GMT -5
This will be a great thread to come back to over and over. Thanks!
And, yes, I am posting a reply as a way for me to breadcrumb the thread, since I am still struggling a bit with our new space and especially the bookmark thing. I'll figure it out, but it just takes me some work.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emily.Postal on Jul 23, 2016 15:20:10 GMT -5
We are pinned. Thanks, mods.
|
|
|
|
Post by gemster on Jul 23, 2016 16:22:02 GMT -5
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding
The German 20th century story told through the history a single building
Me: I really enjoyed this but I love history in general. Even though it's set in Germany it is not all about The War and Nazis so for those who know me and are thinking 'here we go again with the war books' it is about so much more, which I found fascinating - the Russian occupation, communist rule, the division of Germany and then the re-unification. It is non-fiction and focusses on the house itself, though it does discuss the people who lived there it's not a major insight into their characters, it's the house itself that's the focus of the story. And whilst some sad and bad things do happen, it's not disturbing or traumatic in the way some non-fiction history can be.
|
|
|
|
Post by noshowmo on Jul 24, 2016 10:09:20 GMT -5
Since I do this for a living now, I don't want to be repetitive, so I'll just post lists and not repeat full reviews.
PAN: Carousel Court. Miserable people being mean to each other trying to pass as "modern literature." Hated it.
PAN: The Thousandth Floor (YA, coming out 8/30). See review for Carousel Court, only with teenagers and set 100 years from now. Hated it.
PAN: Marie Kondo. Not her, but her books.
Now for my picks:
Horror: Hex, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. Classic witch/ghost story with very modern updates. LOVED this one.
Horror/Thriller: Security, by Gina Wuhlsdorf. Creepy, scary, but also heartwarming and heartbreaking.
Thriller/SciFi/Horror: The Fireman, by Joe Hill. Can't say enough good things about this one.
Thriller: Before the Fall, by Noah Hawley. Fascinating story that is well-told, but also has a great structure. I do love a good story structure.
Literary/Post-apocalyptic: Underground Airlines, by Ben Winters. Not technically post-apoc, more of an "alternate present/future" story. But if you like post-apoc, you'll love this. Also a very poignant commentary on race relations, which is timely today.
Literary: The Man Who Snapped His Fingers, by Fariba Hachtroudi. This novel is short and somewhat sparse, but beautiful and haunting.
Literary: Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels (My Brilliant Friend, etc.). It's kind of embarrassing how much I love these books. It's actually one novel that was 1600 pages, and Europa said um, no, we should probably split this up. Honestly, you really can't go wrong picking up anything published by Europa Editions.
YA/Fantasy: A Torch Against the Night, by Sabaa Tahir (8/30). Sequel to An Ember in the Ashes. Terrific series, very well written, great character development, and not like anything else out there right now.
Also, I will always, always, always rave about Maggie Stiefvater, but even objectively based on reviews of People and Publications Who Matter, you should really read her Raven Cycle series. The last book came out in April and she nailed the conclusion perfectly. It's YA with a supernatural/magical element, but it's only classified as YA because it's about teenagers. It reads like adult fiction, and has just as much appeal.
Nonfiction: Better Than Before, by Gretchen Rubin. This book is the first in about 100 psychology books I've read that has been able to tell me why I resist habits so strongly, and how to work with that instead of fighting it.
Nonfiction: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, by Carlo Rovelli. I have zero background in science except for an unhealthy obsession with the movie Interstellar. I loved this little book.
Nonfiction: But What if We're Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman. The title of this book is printed upside down on the cover. That's enough to want to read it.
|
|
|
|
Post by wendroz on Jul 25, 2016 22:39:21 GMT -5
Thank you all for taking the time to,post some reviews and book choices.
i have several on hold at the library that were recommended here.
|
|
Cyn
This space for rent
OW 209.9 CW 139.9 WWGW 136
Posts: 31,025 
|
Post by Cyn on Jul 26, 2016 5:48:00 GMT -5
Great thread! I'm so glad I stopped over here this morning.
|
|
|
|
Post by smithie on Jul 26, 2016 12:43:46 GMT -5
Duff - this was a great idea for an ongoing thread.
What I have read recently:
The Girls: A Novel by Emma Cline. How a writer so young could so adroitly capture an era gone well before her birth is beyond me. Northern California, late 60's. A young girl is drawn to a cult reminiscent of Charles Manson's. I loved this.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin. A sweet book for those who love to read, about a curmudgeonly, albeit too young to be, bookstore owner who despite his prickly nature, finds all sort of love nonetheless - that of companions, a wife/lover and child. Good summer read.
All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage. A Sort of a psychological thriller, not fast paced and more literary than most of that genre. Set in the 70's, a young couple (college professor and wife) and their child move from the city to an old farm house that has a story of its own. The husband comes home one day to find his wife murdered. I liked it and yet I did not love it and I can't quite put my finger on why. It's my choice for my book club this month, so I will be interested to hear others' opinions.
There's a lot more, now that I have time to read on the train and at night, but I'm done for now.
|
|
|
|
Post by noshowmo on Jul 26, 2016 12:47:11 GMT -5
I'm going to have to give The Girls a try. It was SO overhyped to us back in September that it became suspicious. All the reviews (professional and word of mouth) except one just rave about it, though, so I think I might go ahead with it.
|
|
Cyn
This space for rent
OW 209.9 CW 139.9 WWGW 136
Posts: 31,025
|
Post by Cyn on Jul 26, 2016 13:46:04 GMT -5
I just read The Woman in The Photo by Mary Hogan. Fascinating novel, set in both 1889 and present day, about the Johnstown Flood. Some amazing historical photos. I learned a lot about the flood, the conditions that caused it, Clara Barton and some about the societal and economic issues prevailing at the time.
I enjoy historical fiction, and thought the author did a nice job with the 2 time frames and imparting facts.
|
|
|
|
Post by bumblebuzz21 on Jul 27, 2016 17:19:30 GMT -5
Paris by Edward Rutherfurd. I liked it, although I only gave it 3 stars. I could have done without the last 200 pages, but overall I would recommend it. I did notice that other people didn't like it as much as some of his other books. I haven't read anything else by him so I have nothing to compare it to.
|
|
|
|
Post by blue3123 on Jul 27, 2016 17:22:50 GMT -5
The best book I've read recently is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Would appeal to those who know a lot of 80s pop culture and possibly into early video games. But it was a great read, I throughly enjoyed it.
|
|
|
|
Post by artgirl on Jul 27, 2016 18:36:59 GMT -5
I just read The Woman in The Photo by Mary Hogan. Fascinating novel, set in both 1889 and present day, about the Johnstown Flood. Some amazing historical photos. I learned a lot about the flood, the conditions that caused it, Clara Barton and some about the societal and economic issues prevailing at the time. I enjoy historical fiction, and thought the author did a nice job with the 2 time frames and imparting facts. I just stumbled on this board as I'm familiarizing myself in the new neighborhood. I was just thinking about much loved historical novels and sad that I haven't read a good one in quite awhile. Based on the list below, do you have any recommendations Cyn?
Off the top of my head, my favorites are:
Memoirs of a Geisha The Help The Kitchen House Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Thanks in advance and I'm going to go check out The Woman in the Photo
|
|
Cyn
This space for rent
OW 209.9 CW 139.9 WWGW 136
Posts: 31,025
|
Post by Cyn on Jul 27, 2016 20:08:03 GMT -5
artgirl off the top of my head, I highly recommend the Shardlake series, by CJ Sansome. They're murder mysteries set in and around the court of Henry VIII. Lots of great political intrigue and the main character, Matthew Shardlake walks a knife edge at times in an environment which was dependent upon the whims and mercies of the volatile Tudor temper of Henry and whomever was in his good graces at the time. Sorry about that run-on sentence there. I'll look through my books and suggest some more tomorrow.
|
|
|
|
Post by carolirish on Jul 27, 2016 20:36:48 GMT -5
Am currently reading The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian. About a middle class man who hosts his brothers bachelor party in his familys' home. Things go wrong.
I enjoy historical novels. For early America Sally Gunning wrote three, the first being The Widows War(or maybe just Widows War).
alan Brennert wrote about a leper colony in Hawaii in Molokai, and followed the with Honolulu--about Asians immigrating to the island.
Island Beneath The Sea by same author as Daughter of Fortune(also good). And Jane Smiley wrotr a trilogy about a midwest farm family that was surprisingly good, beginning with Some Luck.
Glad I found another book thread!
CarolO
|
|
|
|
Post by artgirl on Jul 28, 2016 12:27:34 GMT -5
Thank you all for more recs to look into!
Others that I really liked:
The Poisonwood Bible
Zorro (surprisingly about a woman, not the male character)
Pillars of the Earth
most of Phillipa Gregory's books
|
|
|
|
Post by twizzler827 on Jul 29, 2016 9:08:28 GMT -5
I am in my summer "light" reading phase. I just finished Jane Green's new novel Falling, and I thought it was just "meh". It was a fast read, but I felt that there wasn't a lot of character depth and the plot moved too quickly. Anyone else read it?
I am reading Elin Hilderbrand's latest Here's to Us. It's okay too, and (like all her novels) it takes place on Nantucket, so that makes it fun to read in the summer.
Next on my list is The Hopefuls. It is about a couple that moves to DC to work in the Obama White House.
|
|
|
|
Post by leftylou on Jul 29, 2016 10:35:30 GMT -5
I read a couple of good thrillers this summer; Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson and Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes. Both were real page turner.
|
|
|
|
Post by smithie on Jul 29, 2016 11:12:48 GMT -5
I just read A Mother's Reckoning, written by the mother of one of the Columbine killers. A chilling read for any parent who has ever wondered (or should have) how much they really know what is going on in the heart and soul of their child.
|
|
Cyn
This space for rent
OW 209.9 CW 139.9 WWGW 136
Posts: 31,025
|
Post by Cyn on Jul 29, 2016 11:27:07 GMT -5
Does anyone else read the Kay Scarpetta books by Patricia Cornwell?
I think I might be done with these now. I used to love them, but I think she's gone way over the top with bizarre conspiracy theory stuff, IMHO.
I'm not finding her characters very believable or relatable anymore. Scarpetta just seems smug and rather snobbish now, and Lucy is a caricature. Benton and Marino aren't much better.
|
|
