What are You Reading? ~ AUGUST 2017

sunala · ‎03-09-2010

Happy AUGUST 2017 to all of our reading friends!

Welcome to all the new members of our group. Here are some of the suggestions that have been requested...

Underline, "bold" or CAPITALIZE the name of the book you're reading - it makes it easier for us readers to see what it is.

Please include the author of the book - first and last name. There are so many books with the same, or similar title (if you are recommending a book, we want to make sure we read the right one!)

Post a few words about the book - would you recommend it or not, and why. No need to post the cover.

Tell us the book genre - is it fiction, a mystery, romance, historical fiction, biography, memoir, or any other type of book.

Of course, there is no obligation to do any of the above, but it makes life more enjoyable for all of us here.

And please, NO SPOILERS**

If you have any suggestions, please shout it out, as we’re always open to new ideas!

Have a great month, and happy reading to all!

"That's a great first pancake."
Lady Gaga, to Tony Bennett

KathyM23 · ‎11-20-2010

I just finished reading COLLARED by David Rosenfelt. It is a mystery featurilng attorney Andy Carpenter. He is wealthy because of an inheritance and doesn't have to work, but is always getting involved in coming to the defense of wrongly accused., altho it is a mystery there is much humor also. He is married to an ex-cop and has a quirky group of people working for him. He is also owner of an animal rescue facility so it also features dogs.

In real life, he is also a rescuer of golden retrievers and if you have not discovered him yet he wrote a non-fiction book about moving from California to Maine with 25 golden retrievers. Quite a humorous adventure! I am glad I discovered this author.

Last week I read THE BREAKDOWN by B. A Paris. Very good suspenseful thriller. I can recommend this book and author.

I am getting ready to read DOWN A DARK ROAD by Linda Castillo. Her serles is about a woman sheriff in an Ohio Amish community who was raised Amish and left the community and is now the Sheriff. I always look forward to the next book by this author.

freakygirl · ‎07-03-2014

just got done reading SMALL GREAT THINGS by jodi picoult. liked it a lot. many of her other books are on wait list, but PICTURE PERFECT was available, so i'm starting that today.

withaK · ‎01-28-2016

I just finished LITTLE BLACK DRESS by Susan McBride. Kind of a love story, a little mystery and some magic tossed in. IMO more than a few flaws but a great sit-down with you cool drink of choice.

And also (totally shifting gears ) UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand. The story of Louis Zamperini WWII POW survivor, Olympic runner. Very good.

I found on the bookshelf in my comdo community VISTATION STREET by Ivy Pochada.

The back cover calls it "an urban opera writ large.....gritty and magical, filled with mystery, poetry and pain".........I ask you what can you do but jump in !!!!

tobe · ‎07-09-2012

BLITZED: DRUGS IN THE THIRD REICH by Norman Ohler. Historical. This book was a real eye opener for me! A wow!! I did not realize the use of drugs in Germany during the WWII period. Cocaine, opiates, and methamphetamines were all legal and used freely, even among German citizens, and especially in the military. Millions of German soldiers were regular users of crystal meth. Hitler was dependent on injections given to him by his personal physician. This book is researched through the archives and personal historical facts. The book goes into the making of the German drug companies, the discovery and making of these drugs and personal stories of the makers and users.

AMERICAN FIRE: LOVE, ARSON, AND LIFE IN A VANISHING LAND by Monica Hesse This is a true story of an arsonist along the rural Virginia coast area of the Eastern Shore. Once argicultural area, now abandoned, except for some of the old timers still clinging on to the place they loved. A lot of empty buildings and homes dotted the area. The arsonist begins and does not stop. Fire fighters and police are worn out. The book goes into the story line of the arsonist and continues through the trial.

HERE ON EARTH by Alice Hoffman Fiction

I love her style of writing and poetic descriptions. This is what drew me to this book, as I don't usually read love stories. This book is hard to lay down. The main character looks back to her past, which is a sort of coming of age time for her, and then goes back to this place and finds old love. This book is beautifully written as it describes the country side, and small town life. My only drawback is her "sprinkling" of the F word, especially toward the end of the book. This book also takes a turn toward the end which was not expected.

LoriLori · ‎03-12-2010

Thanks again to all who send me well wishes and continuing prayers and good thoughts! Appreciated -- and still needed.

I've been reading a ton. Finished "They All Love Jack" by Bruce Robinson, a fascinating and very long book on Jack the Ripper. Just over 800 pages of tiny print. Having finished it I'm relieved that I'm not losing my eyesight after all.

Oodles of googles haven't produced anyone who agrees with who Robinson believes Jack the Ripper was, but this book is steeped in realistic background of Victorian England, much of it new to me, and full of knowledge about the Freemasons, because every important person involved in the investigation and in the highest levels of government was a Freemason, and they protect their own, and some of the crimes had symbols relating to Masons.

He may not have the right guy (who knows? no one) he does uncover things I've never read before, information in letters that were dismissed as hoaxes that he demonstrates were actually written by the killer, and other things that no one else has pointed out.

He spent over fifteen years writing the book, employing a few full-time researchers as well. It shows. But 800 pages is a lot of Victorian filth and cover-ups, and blood and guts, and at times he adapts Jack the Ripper's vile language, so I can't recommend it and in fact I can't even give it away, no one wants it!

LoriLori · ‎03-12-2010

And now for something completely different, I'm reading Liane Moriarty's "Truly Madly Guilty" and I'm a quarter through and totally get why this book drove even her biggest fans bananas. Her usual method of building of suspense here becomes mind-numbingly annoying repetition.

CareBears · ‎08-30-2015

@LoriLori That is the one book of hers that I have not read yet?

pateacher · ‎04-16-2010

I've just begun Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams. In the past I have enjoyed her books about the fictional Schuyler sisters. So far this book hasn't established any connection to the Schuylers. It's light reading.

Tomorrow evening our book club is discussing The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. I picked this title, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that the other members will have enjoyed the reading.

I don't know whether many of my fellow readers here belong to book clubs. We have started a new procedure: the person who has chosen the next month's book reads the first chapter aloud before the group disperses. This is a good way to build interest in the book beforehand.

Judaline · ‎03-10-2010

Hi lori- did you ever see the special, maybe 20/20, I can't remember, but it was involving Jack and how Patricia Cornwell spent millions of her own money proving who he was? She thinks she did, anyway. I believe he was a doctor. Anyway, I never heard another word about it.