Book Club

[SWEET]

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@Alison Wonderland wrote:

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@SWEET wrote:

Finished Laura McBride's In The Midnight Room.  It was just an okay book.

Up next is The Bar Harbor Retirement Home For Famous Writers by Terri-Lynne DeFino.

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I've never heard of that second book before and it sounds fun! I'm adding it to my list! Thank you, @SWEET.

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Alison Wonderland (love the name), I never heard of that book before either until it showed up in my mailbox. I think the publisher sent it to me or else I signed up for a copy that I don't recall.  LOL

[number one queen]

I just finished reading SOMETHING IN THE WATER, by Catherine Steadman, ( best known for her part in the tv drama Downtown Abbey); I really liked this book.  It is written in first person mostly , with details of why or what  happens when you do something. Interesting where the almost end begins where it does. This book rather sucks you in and you have to keep reading to find out the ending. Also you have to read it to find out if you guessed right ! Some things I did and some things I did not see.

[SparklesMcGee]

I finished some more books! :-)

Refugee by Alan Gratz - This book wrecked me! I cried buckets of tears and then when I thought I was done crying about it, I started thinking about the characters and their situations and the parallels to real life and I started crying and getting upset all over again. This book tells the stories of 3 characters: Josef, a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl in 1994; and Mahmoud,  a Syrian boy in 2015 and their attempted escapes from dangerous, scary, and real life situations. 

I could NOT stop reading this book. Its intended audience is young adult, but everyone should read this one. It's that good!

Grenade by Alan Gratz - I am now on an Alan Gratz kick, but this one wasn't as awesome as the other books by this author I have read. It tells the story of an American soldier and Japanese youth soldier during World War 2.  It was good, but not nearly as compelling as others by this author.

Cottage By the Sea by Debbie Macomber - I really liked this book. I usually read Macomber expecting a nice and cozy romance. This book has all of the parts I have come to expect with Macomber, plus a little more substance. The "substance" parts made me cry. It also has kittens and dogs and illness and babies and abuse and mudslides and love and hoarding and blueberries and...all the things.

The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy - I got an ARC of this book written by Knox McCoy, one of the 2 hilarious hosts of the podcast, The PopCast. It was a fine book that I know the author spent a long time working on (he talked of his work on the podcast all the time), but it contained more faith-based stories than I was expecting and it kind of put me off. I loved all of the pop culture references and the conversational writing. It was a fine read.

[CareBears]

@number one queen Thanks for your review I have this somewhere in my lists, to read, on request, or here, I will eventually read it!

[CareBears]

@SparklesMcGee Thanks for your review of Cottage By The Sea, I was just notified that is available to pick up at the library, looking forward to reading, and even more so after reading your review, thanks so much!

[fit model]

So happy to find a "book club" to share stories with. Right now I am reading The Soul of America, by Jon Meacham. Tough read, but fascinating history. I also am a huge mystery book fan. My favorite  author is James Lee Burke, followed by John Sanford and others. My fiction currently is U is for Undertow, by Sue Grafton, who we lost this year.

I hadn't read her books in a long time, and I feel that she had really grown and matured as an author. I and others, will surely miss her contributions.

I look forward to reading about this community of book lovers.

[LoriLori]

Lovers of great mysteries with serial killers:     Amazon sent me an email trying to sell me a book called "A Killer's Mind" by Mike Omer.  

So I bought it even though I can't read those kind of books, they give me nightmares.  But the reviews were so great and the sales and I knew if I didn't like it my mother would love it, that's practically all she reads.  I didn't make it to page four, it was not my thing.  Mom's loving it.

It's a sleeper.  It's outselling his prior mysteries by ten times and it's been on the bestseller list for weeks.  So I recommend it even though I haven't read it LOL.  They've already said it will be a series.

[smoky22]

@LoriLori  you are too funny, recommending a book you aren't going to read.  I guess the recommendation comes from your mother.  I don't usually read serial killer books.  I doubt I'll be reading this one, but you're right, it has a lot of great reviews.   

Are you getting Fear tomorrow or will it be shipped out to you tomorrow (and then you'll get it Thursday)?

[Lilysmom]

@fit model, welcome to the book club.

James Lee Burke is one of my favorite authors.  I have read everything he wrote.  Gritty, atmospheric!  LM

[teganslaw]

I'm reading The Store by James Patterson. In the future, an online retailer where people can buy anything to make their lives more convenient, controls their actions. Kind of like :":Big Brother".  The book is a quick read and OK, but not one of his best.  I plan on finishing it, though, just to see what happens.