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Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,159
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

@LoriLori I just saw that Tell them Britt Marie Was Here is a movie. I didn't know that! Did you? 2019 movie. They did a pretty good job with "Ove" so I'm hoping this will be as well done.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,257
Registered: ‎10-15-2018

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

I just finished my Goodreads Win, "His & Hers" by Alice Feeney. It was a twisty and suspenseful book that I hated to put down because I always wanted to see what was on that next page! I would give it 5 stars!!! I believe it's being published in July. 👍
Valued Contributor
Posts: 807
Registered: ‎04-16-2010

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

I am reading The Wicked Redhead by Beatriz Williams. I am having a little bit of trouble getting into the book, but concentration hasn't been my strong suit lately.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,322
Registered: ‎02-22-2015

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

[ Edited ]

@tansy wrote:

Well, you intrigued me with the grown-up Nancy Drew description, @BirkiLady  🙂  I'm adding this author to my ebook library list.  


@tansy  Whenever you have the time to read Such a Perfect Wife or any of Kate White's other books, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. I've put another one of her books on HOLD at the library and hope it will be available for pick-up within a week or two.  Smiley Happy 

 

Your recent post had three very interesting books which I'll also add to my books on HOLD at the library. Many thanks! 

Money screams; wealth whispers.
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,117
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

[ Edited ]

Just finished Tara Neilson's Raised In Ruins (nf - memoir). Here is my review from GR.  I seem to be in the minority after reading the reviews. I gave it 3 stars.

 

"Thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for this book.

I think this was the longest shortest book I've ever read (258) pages. It took me 5 days for me to read it since I wasn't sure if I wanted to finish it.

It was interesting to learn how this family of 7 lived in Alaska in an old cannery w/out the modern amenities and how they built everything themselves and learned to love it. In this day and age, I don't see many people or children living like this.

I'd love to know where the family is now and what they are up to."

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,520
Registered: ‎03-14-2010

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020


@pateacher wrote:

I am reading The Wicked Redhead by Beatriz Williams. I am having a little bit of trouble getting into the book, but concentration hasn't been my strong suit lately.


@pateacher  I am a fan of Beatriz Williams' earlier books, but I haven't been hooked by her more recent offerings.📚🤷‍♀️

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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,322
Registered: ‎02-22-2015

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok (3.5 Stars)

Mystery surrounding an immigrated Chinese family who were living in NYC, but one daughter flies to the Netherlands for a final visit with her dying  grandmother. The family dynamics begin to unfold, along with the cultural expectations and unspoken, long-held secrets of the extended family members. Sylvia, the golden girl, disappeared. Her family was devestated and searched for answers and tracked her movements in the Netherlands.

Recommended reading by Jenna Hagar Bush. Profound novel on immigration, language and culture differences, family interactions and how they affect a person's well being and life. Jean Kwok's writing is gripping and well done throughout the first 2/3 of the book. The last third changes and is a disappointment, but worth finishing the read. Thus, the 3.5 star rating.   

Money screams; wealth whispers.
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,966
Registered: ‎05-30-2010

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

[ Edited ]

Haven't posted in a while, busy working in my yard and reading.  I read as much as usual.  Latest books :

 

The Glass Hotel (Emily St John Mandel).  Gave this 5 stars, even though it's not quite as good as Station Eleven.  

The Animals At Lockwood Manor (Jane Healey). 2 stars.  Boring.

The Face Changers (Thomas Perry).  4th in the Jane Whitefield series.  5 stars.

Himself (Jess Kidd's 1st book) 4 stars.

Mr Floods Last Resort (Jess Kidd's 2nd book) 5 stars. 

Things In Jars (Jess Kidd's 3rd book).  5 stars.

Jess Kidd may not be for everyone.  I find her books quirky but engaging.   

The Chestnut Man (Soren Sveistrup) 4 stars.

Gods of Jade and Shadow (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) 5 stars.  This one really surprised me. The story is based on Mayan mythology and is magical.  Beautifully written.      

Regular Contributor
Posts: 202
Registered: ‎07-04-2014

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

I just finished:

 

The Chamber by John Grisham (re-read, not quite as good as I remembered...)

Cresent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (book 1 in a new adult fantasy series - excellent!)

Five Presidents by Clint Hill (non-fiction memoir by Secret Service Agent)

The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor (dual timeline, fairies, bookshops!)

First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn (ARC I needed to review)

The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren (romance with HGTV ties)

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal (multiple timeline, midwestern family story)

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson (YA Sci-Fi)

 

 

Now I am reading:

Wild at Heart by KA Tucker (book #2 in series)

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (book #1 in series)

 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,322
Registered: ‎02-22-2015

Re: WHAT ARE YOU READING? APRIL 2020

My Life as a Rat by Joyce Carol Oates (4.5 Stars)

If you enjoyed "We Were the Mulvaney's", you will enjoy this novel." It's similar, although it reads like a memoir and draws the reader into it. Another book by JCO that is difficult to read at times; yet tender in other instances.

Violet Kerrigan recalls her life in estrangement from her family at age 12 after testifying about her knowledge of a racist murder of an African-American boy by her two older brothers. Her memory includes being the favorite youngest child of seven children who accidently "informs" her school officials about her brothers behaviors, which leads to their arrests, convictions, and her parents sending to to live with an aunt in another city.

 

Banished from parents, siblings, and Church, forces Violet to discover her own identify at a very young age. She breaks the powerful dysfunctional  Kerrigan family forces and emerges from her years of exile and the "rat" as a caring person and wonderful woman who is able to help her remaining siblings in their journey toward living forgiveness, as well. 

Money screams; wealth whispers.