Literature What are you currently reading?

[Emma JC]

I am reading a book called The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths. I have read all the books in this series and this is number 14. It came out earlier this year but it is set back in March 2020 and the following months during the first lockdown here.

It is weird reading it as it really reminds me of what it was like during that time in my life. The empty roads, the panic buying, the Prime Minister almost dying from Covid etc... The lead character has a cat and she was saying how she needed to put cat food as a priority. I remember I was like that with pet food, cat litter and toilet paper as I was paranoid about running out of any of them!

I am waiting for Book 5 of the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths, to arrive from the library - I am very much enjoying them as it all the things I like, mystery, whodunits, love, twists etc.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Raven]

I read this book yesterday as I had pre-ordered it a while ago. I would give it 4 and a half stars out of 5.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

 

[Emma JC]

I read this book yesterday as I had pre-ordered it a while ago. I would give it 4 and a half stars out of 5.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

It is a long wait 14 weeks - I have placed it on hold.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Chryssie]

I reserved that book at the library. I am number 70 on the list!

 

[Lou]

I finally finished

Cloud Cuckoo Land​

I thought it was a little slow going and confusing at the beginning. But I really liked it once I got into it.
Really good ending too.

Cloud Cuckoo Land

When everything is lost, it’s our stories that survive. How do we weather the end of things? Cloud Cuckoo Land brings together an un...

www.goodreads.com

 

[Raven]

I read another book from the ones I have on my kindle yesterday. It was called The Holiday. It was really good and I did not guess the twists at all! I got it from Prime Reading so it was free for me. I read after that it was turned into a Netflix thriller. The Holiday cast I Jill Halfpenny leads Netflix thriller | Radio Times

I did start reading Into The Water which is a book by Paula Hawkins (the woman who wrote The Girl on The Train) but I couldn't get into that at all.

 

[Emma JC]

Grisham's The Judge's List

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Chryssie]

Finished another Tim Dorsey book today called "Hammerhead Ranch Motel". This is an older book published in 2000. It is another crazy ride through Florida with many quirky characters and laughable shenanigans. I didn't like it as well as some of the others I have read but still entertaining and makes you LOL.

 

[Raven]

I've been listening to a podcast about Heidi Fleiss on my walks last week and the woman doing the podcast keeps mentioning Demi Moore's autobiography so I bought it on my kindle. I'm about to start reading it in the bath.

Demi Moore Lets Her Guard Down - The New York Times

 

[Raven]

Demi Moore's book was interesting, it was an easy read. Ashton Kutcher doesn't come across very well in it!

 

[Lou]

I've been listening to a podcast about Heidi Fleiss on my walks last week and the woman doing the podcast keeps mentioning Demi Moore's autobiography so I bought it on my kindle. I'm about to start reading it in the bath.

Demi Moore Lets Her Guard Down - The New York Times

I read my kindle in the bath, too. I'm sure someday I will nod off and drop it in the bath.

 

[Emma JC]

I read Dark Matter a couple years ago and really liked it. Recursion was good too.

I'm half way through American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I've been wanting to read this author for a while, I'll definitely be checking out more of his stuff.

I finally received and finished Dark Matter - liked it very much!! thank you!

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Emma JC]

still working my way through the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths - I am liking them

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Chryssie]

Finished "City of Orange" by David Yoon today. It is the story of Adam Chung who is broken by a terrible tragedy and must learn to survive. It is beautifully written, very moving, and sucks you into Adam's journey. I was crying at the end. Highly recommended.

 

[Sax]

I finally received and finished Dark Matter - liked it very much!! thank you!

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

I'm glad you liked it!

I just started Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Tess of the Durbervilles at the moment

 

[Chryssie]

Finished "Sinkhole" a debut novel by Davida G. Breier today. I picked this book up just browsing in the library because it takes place in Florida. It is the story of Michelle Miller told in first person. It is a story of coming of age in the 80's, family and friend relationships and trauma. It was really good. The first part of the book jumped back and forth in time from the present back to the 80's when she was in high school. After reading two really deep and heavy books in a row, I am ready for something light and cheerful!

 

[ewomack]

I started reading a series on the American presidents back in 2017 and have read a volume or two a month, in order, up until the present. As of this moment, I am just about half way through the volume on Richard Nixon, the 37th president, which means I've somehow managed to follow this series for almost 36 books (Grover Cleveland only has a single volume for his two non-consecutive terms, so it throws the numbers off by one). I've learned so many good, bad and shocking things through this reading that I never learned in school or anywhere else. The series ends with George W. Bush (No volumes on Obama or Trump exist yet), so only 6.5 books to go.

 

[Lou]

@ewomack
What series is this? How long are the books.?When were they published.? Are the books written by just one person or is it more like a company effort?
How about the author's perspective? Are they reverential or critical? and do they just gloss over the controversies or do they explore them?

 

[ewomack]

@Lou
The series is "The American Presidents Series," the books date from 2002 to 2018 and include multiple authors. I'll give just a broad description to keep the conversation from becoming too political. So far, the books have overall remained fairly neutral politically, meaning that they try, and often succeed, to look at politics mainly from a historical perspective. Of course some editorial comments slip in, but they offer praise when needed and blame when needed. I decided to continue the series after reading the very level-headed volume on George Washington. It didn't deify him nor present him as an untouchable legend. Instead, it pointed out where he succeeded (mostly in his first term) and where he proved less successful (mostly in his second term). It didn't obscure, dodge, or rationalize away more difficult topics such as his slave-owning or his policies towards Native Americans. I came out with what felt like a fair, balanced, humanized, and "warts and all" assessment of a historical figure often depicted as beyond criticism. Most of the authors come from university history or journalism departments, with some exceptions, such as John Dean on Harding or Gary Hart on Monroe. My least favorite volume, so far, was on McKinley, one that I really looked forward to because the presidency, and the US itself, really shifted under his administration. Instead, the author railed on about how Theodore Roosevelt took credit for many of McKinley's initiatives and the subject of McKinley himself seemed almost secondary. It could have had the subtitle "Why does TR get all the credit?" I haven't agreed with everything I've read in these books, of course, but I've learned so much about the country that I found myself thrown into by birth to make the effort fully worth it. Plus, the books only run about 150 - 200 pages each, so the commitment isn't too onerous. After completing the series, I hope to read more indepth books on some specific subjects that came up throughout. Ultimately, I can't believe how much I didn't know about the United States, both good and bad.