Community Chat

[SoX]

On 1/1/2015 Lilysmom said:

Carrying this over from Dec Reading Thread in case some missed it with all the holiday activities. Thanks to Lolakimono for the recommendation... LM

Lola, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN looks good. Here is the storyline...

A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives. Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good? A compulsively readable, emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller that draws comparisons to Gone Girl, The Silent Wife, or Before I Go to Sleep, this is an electrifying debut embraced by readers across markets and categories.

Think I'll pre-order this one today, for January 13 release (Kindle edition) this sounds right up my alley.

[Linders Back]

On 1/7/2015 LoriLori said:

Finished Julian Fellowes's "Past Imperfect." I loved it just as much as I disliked his first novel, "Snobs." Highly recommend for fans of Downton and anyone who enjoys a breezy (if overly long) novel.

Started "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng. Slow start but I'm hoping it gets better; the reviews have been great.

Lori, Not sure where you live, but I'm interested in getting a more "global" reaction to Everything I Never Told You. I live in a New England city with an almost majority Asian population so am having a hard time identifying with the Lee family situation. The entire plot seems to revolve around "not fitting in" so it doesn't resonate with me. I know the era was different than today and Ohio isn't Boston, but I still can't quite feel the way I think I'm supposed to about these characters.

Don't want to post any spoilers. I'm over halfway through and need to finish for my Book Club next week. Would love to have your perspective if you live in a different area of the country.

[sunala]

I just lost my post, as I AGAIN forgot to copy it before I clicked Send grrrr

Okay now it's going to be quick. I loved Five Days Left by Judy Lawson Timmer and recommend it highly. LOVE LOVE LOVE, with an ending that I couldn't wait to get to and was surprised to read.

I'm now reading Lay that Trumpet in our Hands, by Susan Carol McCarthy, and I'm loving it. It's reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird, not to say it's just like it, but it takes place during the same times, in a similar place, narrated by a young girl not unlike Scout, with a kind, good family like Scout's. It's been on my TBR list since 2007, and I'm so happy I found it on there and decided to read it.

Happy Reading

[sunala]

On 1/8/2015 Linders Back said:

On 1/7/2015 LoriLori said:

Finished Julian Fellowes's "Past Imperfect." I loved it just as much as I disliked his first novel, "Snobs." Highly recommend for fans of Downton and anyone who enjoys a breezy (if overly long) novel.

Started "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng. Slow start but I'm hoping it gets better; the reviews have been great.

Lori, Not sure where you live, but I'm interested in getting a more "global" reaction to Everything I Never Told You. I live in a New England city with an almost majority Asian population so am having a hard time identifying with the Lee family situation. The entire plot seems to revolve around "not fitting in" so it doesn't resonate with me. I know the era was different than today and Ohio isn't Boston, but I still can't quite feel the way I think I'm supposed to about these characters.

Don't want to post any spoilers. I'm over halfway through and need to finish for my Book Club next week. Would love to have your perspective if you live in a different area of the country.

Linders Back, I read this a while ago. I live in NY and I don't think it matters where you live or how many Asians you may know. This thought of the differences of race never entered my mind as I read it. It could have been a Christian and a Jew, or an African-American and an American Indian. Not to go into detail, but I just didn't care for a few of the main characters, and I thought the book was too dark and sad for me.

Please let us know what you think when you're done.

[lovescats]

The Children Act by Ian Mcewan

This is a pretty short but the story does remind me of the Connecticut case when the court is making the teen have chemo. The author does make one good point. It's worth bringing home if you see it at the library.

[lolakimono]

I'm reading this one now:

A field of corpses, laid out in a macabre display…A serial killer who confounds even the most seasoned profilers…A doctor whose life has been shattered by crime-plunged into the heart of a shocking investigation… In this masterful new novel by Simon Beckett, #1 internationally bestselling author of Written in Bone and The Chemistry of Death, forensic anthropologist David Hunter is thrust into his first murder investigation on U.S. soil-and his most devastating case yet.

In the heat of a Tennessee summer, Dr. Hunter has come to Knoxville's legendary "Body Farm"-the infamous field laboratory where law enforcement personnel study real corpses-to escape London and the violence that nearly destroyed his life. He's also here to find out if he's still up to the job of sorting through death in all its strange and terrible forms.… Hunter will soon find his answer when he's called to a crime scene in a remote Smoky Mountain cabin-a scene as grisly as it is bizarre.

The body is taped to a table. Everything about the crime scene-the wounds, the decomposition, the microscopic evidence-quickly short-circuits the tools and methods of forensic experts. Within days, Hunter knows he's dealing with a serial killer, someone intimately familiar with the intricacies of forensics. All around him, egos and hierarchies clash-from the boasts of a renowned criminal profiler to the dogged work of a young female investigator-but fate keeps pushing Hunter further into the heart of the manhunt. And the killer keeps coming up with surprises: booby-trapping corpses, faking times of death, swapping bodies-finally turning his sights on after Hunter himself.…

[LoriLori]

On 1/8/2015 Linders Back said:

On 1/7/2015 LoriLori said:

Finished Julian Fellowes's "Past Imperfect." I loved it just as much as I disliked his first novel, "Snobs." Highly recommend for fans of Downton and anyone who enjoys a breezy (if overly long) novel.

Started "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng. Slow start but I'm hoping it gets better; the reviews have been great.

Lori, Not sure where you live, but I'm interested in getting a more "global" reaction to Everything I Never Told You. I live in a New England city with an almost majority Asian population so am having a hard time identifying with the Lee family situation. The entire plot seems to revolve around "not fitting in" so it doesn't resonate with me. I know the era was different than today and Ohio isn't Boston, but I still can't quite feel the way I think I'm supposed to about these characters.

Don't want to post any spoilers. I'm over halfway through and need to finish for my Book Club next week. Would love to have your perspective if you live in a different area of the country.

Linders, I was raised in NYC, live in Florida, have lived in Boston, and I don't know if or how that plays into it -- but it's (Everything I Never Told You) not resonating with me either. And I'm finding it deadly dull. Truth is this afternoon it put me to sleep! I will finish it but more to see if it ends up deserving a fraction of the praise it has received than out of any interest.

[MrsSweetieBear]

I finished Some Luck and wished it didn't end so abruptly. It was my fault for not realizing that it is the first in a trilogy. I would have waited until the second book was out if I had been paying attention. I did enjoy it though.

I'm now reading, or trying to read A Tale For the Time Being. I'm having trouble getting into it, keep putting it down and making excuses not to pick it back up. Never a good sign.

[sandy53]

I recommend Hush, a new book by Karen Robards. It is a mystery/thriller about the search for missing money (billions) hidden by a convicted felon. It includes murder, attempted murder, chase scenes, and lots of romance/s*xual tension. The characters are smart and there is plenty of action.

[smoky22]

I finished A Tale For The Time Being (Ruth Ozeki). It's a complex and imaginative story that interweaves two very different worlds and is basically about human existence.

I've tried to read The Chaperone (Laura Moriarty) and am finding it very dull. Same with And Only To Deceive (Tasha Alexander). Maybe I'll have better luck with Moriarty (Anthony Horowitz). Yes, it's about Sherlock Holmes.

And today I was able to put two kindle library books on waitlist, The Girl On The Train and As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust (the latest Flavia De Luce!!).