What are YOU reading? (Formerly Summer of Books...)

[gracendignity]

I finished Fireman while eating supper. I haven't changed my opinion of it, sorry to say. I've read his other books and really liked NOS4A2, so was looking forward to this one. It just fell flat to me. With his experience and ability, this should have been a better book.    I won't really say more about it for fear of giving away more than I should. It is an okay book to borrow from the library or a friend, but I'm glad I didn't part with any of my hard-earned cash for it.  The customer reviews on Amazon give it many 4 and 5 stars but there is a generous helping of 3, 2 and 1 star ratings, as well. 

[gracendignity]

I enjoy many book on my Kindle, most of which are free or nearly so. I get them via Bookbub.  I'm a major word junkie and read many genres, but I especially enjoy "cozy" mysteries because they don't require all my brain cells.  I have a Kindle Fire HD with a "text-to-talk" feature that allows any book to become an audible book.  The voice is computer generated and sometimes twists a word around in a funny way, but it does't bother me too much.  I like to listen to a book when puttering in the kitchen, sewing at my machine or driving. 

Quite often with these books for free or 99c you get what you pay for, but others have been surprisingly good.  I recommend the Maternal Instincts series by Diana Orgain.  There are 4 in the series so far and they are pretty good.  The first one begins with the protagonist just hours away from having her first baby and realizing she does not want to go back to her office job after baby is born, so she decides to become a private investigator.  Light reading stories that you can pick up and put down multiple times without losing the thread of the story.

[gracendignity]

May 31, 2016 15:02:27 GMT -5 movingforward said:

I am reading a really lighthearted mystery series right now by Liz Mugavero .  They are what I would categorize as "cute."  I started them on the plane to Vegas a week ago.  I wanted something mindless to read on the trip but I kind of got hooked on them.  I will get back into reading some more serious stuff later but these are kind of fun for a change. 

I just put the first book in this series on hold with my online library. Thanks for sharing! "Cute" and "cozy" is about all my brain is good many days here lately.

[tcu2003]

Ugh, this thread is reminding me I need to get my rear in gear on reading again. I've got a couple of dry nonfiction reads I'm partway through, so I either need to power through or switch to something more interesting for a while.

I also need to figure out what is wrong with my Kindle - every time I push the next page or previous page buttons, the search bar pops up and fills with mumbo jumbo letters. Grrrrrr.

[lexxy703]

I just finished State of the Union by Brad Thor & just started Ripper. I'm not sure who the author is. It is an interesting read. It is about a possible serial killer but that is actually sort of in the background. The real attention is directed at the 4-5 main characters.

[Plain Old Petunia]

I have just started Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer.   So far, it is an attention grabber.  Unfortunately, I only had about 15 min to spare of my lunch hour, so that is as far as I have gotten.


There are 3 books in the series.  I love a good dystopian tale.  


Update:  Even though I found this book on a list of "Best Dystopian Tales", it is sci-fi not dystopian.   Even so, a great read.  I'm halfway into book 2 at this point.  SnugglyBumps picked up book 1 due to my rave review.

[Plain Old Petunia]

Oh, and I recently finished That Was Not The Plan by Cristina Alger.  It is set in NYC.  The main character was a young widower who is still largely in denial 2 years after his wife's sudden death.  It was a good read.  

[tcu2003]

A trip without the kiddo and husband meant I got to fit in some quality reading time - woo hoo! Started and finished The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - I thought I had the ending/twist figured out a couple of times, but was wrong, so it definitely kept me interested.

[Deleted]

I'm listening to The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Finished Mary Kubica's Don't you cry... Meh. I'm print reading trashy romance exclusively at the moment, when I do get time... Oh, that's false, also rereading Blue Sword. 

[Tennesseer]

Rereading (for the 5th time?) Alas, Babylon, a 1959 novel by Pat Frank.  It's about the effects of a nuclear war and the local affects on a fictional small town in Florida.  Some of the language in it is dated but still a good read. 

[gracendignity]

Jun 8, 2016 21:30:50 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Rereading (for the 5th time?) Alas, Babylon, a 1959 novel by Pat Frank.  It's about the effects of a nuclear war and the local affects on a fictional small town in Florida.  Some of the language in it is dated but still a good read. 

I have read this book several times, too.  I agree it is a bit dated but still interesting.   I have also read One Second After, another post-apocalyptic story.  Both can make a person stop and think about what if.

[gracendignity]

I've been enjoying a good reading spell. I read Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham. At first it just seemed to be a collection of events in the life of an unconventional lawyer; however, by the end of the book the threads were tied together pretty well.  I enjoyed reading/listening to it and fully expect to see it turned into a movie one of these days.

War Brides by Helen Bryan is another one I just completed.  It follows the lives of five young women in England during WWII.  They are women who would probably not have known each other in different circumstances but they all ended up in the same small village.  The ending surprised me, and I can usually see the hook in a story long before it happens.  I finished it rather quickly, listening to it on my Kindle as I unpacked the last of my moving boxes and did housework, so I'd say a good summer read.

I'm currently about 1/4-way through a psychological thriller called Follow You Home by Mark Edwards.  A young British couple have a horrifying experience on a trip in Romania.  Not sure exactly what it is--the author has not disclosed it yet--but whatever it is, it was so horrifying they are traumatized and break up.  Now it appears that they are either going crazy or perhaps being stalked by someone from the event.  I bet I can guess which it will be.  lol!  I'm not sure what I think about it--I'm kind of in the mood for light reading right now and this one is rather dark. 

Stephen King's newest, End of Watch, came out yesterday.  I'll be picking up a physical copy of it when I'm in town this weekend.  It's gonna be hotter than blue blazes around here and I think hibernating under the AC reading and quilting will be just the ticket for getting me through it. 

[tcu2003]

Jun 8, 2016 21:30:50 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Rereading (for the 5th time?) Alas, Babylon, a 1959 novel by Pat Frank.  It's about the effects of a nuclear war and the local affects on a fictional small town in Florida.  Some of the language in it is dated but still a good read. 

I read this in college for a class and enjoyed it - I'd forgotten about it until you mentioned it.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 9, 2016 7:55:16 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Jun 8, 2016 21:30:50 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Rereading (for the 5th time?) Alas, Babylon, a 1959 novel by Pat Frank.  It's about the effects of a nuclear war and the local affects on a fictional small town in Florida.  Some of the language in it is dated but still a good read. 

I read this in college for a class and enjoyed it - I'd forgotten about it until you mentioned it.

My dad's best friend gave me the book to read around 1969. I probably pick it up once a decade to read.

[Chocolate Lover]

Jun 8, 2016 21:30:50 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Rereading (for the 5th time?) Alas, Babylon, a 1959 novel by Pat Frank.  It's about the effects of a nuclear war and the local affects on a fictional small town in Florida.  Some of the language in it is dated but still a good read. 

I had to read that in school and I loved it, I haven't read it in a while, but I think I still have my copy.

[Chocolate Lover]

Jun 8, 2016 22:14:15 GMT -5 gracendignity said:

I've been enjoying a good reading spell. I read Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham. At first it just seemed to be a collection of events in the life of an unconventional lawyer; however, by the end of the book the threads were tied together pretty well.  I enjoyed reading/listening to it and fully expect to see it turned into a movie one of these days.

War Brides by Helen Bryan is another one I just completed.  It follows the lives of five young women in England during WWII.  They are women who would probably not have known each other in different circumstances but they all ended up in the same small village.  The ending surprised me, and I can usually see the hook in a story long before it happens.  I finished it rather quickly, listening to it on my Kindle as I unpacked the last of my moving boxes and did housework, so I'd say a good summer read.

I'm currently about 1/4-way through a psychological thriller called Follow You Home by Mark Edwards.  A young British couple have a horrifying experience on a trip in Romania.  Not sure exactly what it is--the author has not disclosed it yet--but whatever it is, it was so horrifying they are traumatized and break up.  Now it appears that they are either going crazy or perhaps being stalked by someone from the event.  I bet I can guess which it will be.  lol!  I'm not sure what I think about it--I'm kind of in the mood for light reading right now and this one is rather dark. 

Stephen King's newest, End of Watch, came out yesterday.  I'll be picking up a physical copy of it when I'm in town this weekend.  It's gonna be hotter than blue blazes around here and I think hibernating under the AC reading and quilting will be just the ticket for getting me through it. 

Me too!!!!! I'm liking it so far.


I just finished The Replacement, by Jason Pellegrini. I think it's his first book, and could have used a bit more proofreading (vile/vial kind of stuff) but the story did pull me in and keep me reading. 

[jeep108]

If you like romances I recommend Sweet Nothing by Jamie McGuire and Teresa Murmment.  I think I need a support group for the ending.  

[snapdragon]

Jun 9, 2016 12:01:43 GMT -5 jeep108 said:

If you like romances I recommend Sweet Nothing by Jamie McGuire and Teresa Murmment.  I think I need a support group for the ending.  

I will have to see if that is at the library. I know I can turn into a crying mess. So thank you for the heads up.

[snapdragon]

Well - 

The Carpool finished "His Majesty's Dragon" by Naomi Novak and we have started listening to "Foundation" by Mercedes Lackey. It's a newer Valdemar book so we are having fun with it. 

I read "Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas and it was excellent. I can't wait to find out what happens in book 3.   

I did a fast read of E.A. Price's Supernatural Enforcers Agency. There are 4 books so far and I read them all last Sunday. 

Reading right now -

Spirelli Paranormal Investigations Episodes 1-3, Bewitched & Betrayed, and I am listening to The Shadow Patrol by Alex Berenson.

[Artemis Windsong]

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario.
 
Based on the Los Angeles Times series that won two Pulitzer Prizes, this is a timeless story of families torn apart. When Enrique was five, his mother, too poor to feed her children, left Honduras to work in the United States. The move allowed her to send money back home so Enrique could eat better and go to school past the third grade. She promised she would return quickly, but she struggled in America. Without her, he became lonely and troubled. After eleven years, he decided he would go find her. He set off alone, with little more than a slip of paper bearing his mother's North Carolina telephone number. Without money, he made the dangerous trek up the length of Mexico, clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains. He and other migrants, many of them children, are hunted like animals. To evade bandits and authorities, they must jump onto and off the moving boxcars they call the Train of Death. It is an epic journey, one thousands of children make each year to find their mothers in the United States.

[Deleted]

Read Little Boy Blue the latest Helen Grace mystery... It was my least favorite, ok but not fantastic. Sigh. I'm not having a great book spring. I couldn't finish Lost World. I'm almost done with Gretel and the case of the missing frog prints. It was amusing, but again, kinda meh and that chick never met two words she couldn't replace with twelve... 

As soon as evals are over I'm starting Swarm.

[Chocolate Lover]

I finished Follow You Home, then read War Brides (Helen Bryan) and The Butterfly Garden (Dot Hutchison). I really need to get more audio books, my eyes hate me some days when I just don't want to stop reading. I do recommend all 3, they kept me interested. 

I have not yet started anything since finishing the last one this weekend. 

[Plain Old Petunia]

Jun 19, 2016 16:57:42 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario.
 
Based on the Los Angeles Times series that won two Pulitzer Prizes, this is a timeless story of families torn apart. When Enrique was five, his mother, too poor to feed her children, left Honduras to work in the United States. The move allowed her to send money back home so Enrique could eat better and go to school past the third grade. She promised she would return quickly, but she struggled in America. Without her, he became lonely and troubled. After eleven years, he decided he would go find her. He set off alone, with little more than a slip of paper bearing his mother's North Carolina telephone number. Without money, he made the dangerous trek up the length of Mexico, clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains. He and other migrants, many of them children, are hunted like animals. To evade bandits and authorities, they must jump onto and off the moving boxcars they call the Train of Death. It is an epic journey, one thousands of children make each year to find their mothers in the United States.

That is heart-breaking.  Have you seen Which Way Home, the documentary about the same subject?   

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Jun 21, 2016 11:29:33 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

Jun 19, 2016 16:57:42 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario.
 
Based on the Los Angeles Times series that won two Pulitzer Prizes, this is a timeless story of families torn apart. When Enrique was five, his mother, too poor to feed her children, left Honduras to work in the United States. The move allowed her to send money back home so Enrique could eat better and go to school past the third grade. She promised she would return quickly, but she struggled in America. Without her, he became lonely and troubled. After eleven years, he decided he would go find her. He set off alone, with little more than a slip of paper bearing his mother's North Carolina telephone number. Without money, he made the dangerous trek up the length of Mexico, clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains. He and other migrants, many of them children, are hunted like animals. To evade bandits and authorities, they must jump onto and off the moving boxcars they call the Train of Death. It is an epic journey, one thousands of children make each year to find their mothers in the United States.

That is heart-breaking.  Have you seen Which Way Home, the documentary about the same subject?   

It IS heartbreaking and has piqued my motherly instincts enough that, spurred by all you library patrons, I might actually go to mine and check it out rather than buy it as is my usual book m.o..

[movingforward]

Jun 20, 2016 11:53:07 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I finished Follow You Home, then read War Brides (Helen Bryan) and The Butterfly Garden (Dot Hutchison). I really need to get more audio books, my eyes hate me some days when I just don't want to stop reading. I do recommend all 3, they kept me interested. 

I have not yet started anything since finishing the last one this weekend. 

I downloaded Follow You Home last night.  It will probably be a week or so before I get to it though. 

[lexxy703]

I'm reading Finders Keepers the second book in a new trilogy by Stephen King.

[Artemis Windsong]

Jun 21, 2016 11:29:33 GMT -5 Plain Old Petunia said:

Jun 19, 2016 16:57:42 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario.
 
Based on the Los Angeles Times series that won two Pulitzer Prizes, this is a timeless story of families torn apart. When Enrique was five, his mother, too poor to feed her children, left Honduras to work in the United States. The move allowed her to send money back home so Enrique could eat better and go to school past the third grade. She promised she would return quickly, but she struggled in America. Without her, he became lonely and troubled. After eleven years, he decided he would go find her. He set off alone, with little more than a slip of paper bearing his mother's North Carolina telephone number. Without money, he made the dangerous trek up the length of Mexico, clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains. He and other migrants, many of them children, are hunted like animals. To evade bandits and authorities, they must jump onto and off the moving boxcars they call the Train of Death. It is an epic journey, one thousands of children make each year to find their mothers in the United States.

That is heart-breaking.  Have you seen Which Way Home, the documentary about the same subject?   

I have not seen the documentary.  I will keep it in mind.

Two things in the book jumped out.  One is the quest to be with their mother.  The second was how the impoverished would spend $400 on a birthday party for someone in Guatamala.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 8, 2016 22:02:32 GMT -5 gracendignity said:

Jun 8, 2016 21:30:50 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Rereading (for the 5th time?) Alas, Babylon, a 1959 novel by Pat Frank.  It's about the effects of a nuclear war and the local affects on a fictional small town in Florida.  Some of the language in it is dated but still a good read. 

I have read this book several times, too.  I agree it is a bit dated but still interesting.   I have also read One Second After, another post-apocalyptic story.  Both can make a person stop and think about what if.

I ordered One Second After to give it a read. A sequal titled One Year After was published late 2015. Order that too (paperback version release date is June 28, 2016).

[Deleted]

One second after is scary as heck.

[gracendignity]

I ordered One Second After to give it a read. A sequel titled One Year After was published late 2015. Order that too (paperback version release date is June 28, 2016).

There is a 3rd book that is due out next January, The Final Day. I've only read the 1st book. I logged into the library on line and see book two is available in audio format, but I am passing for right now because I've got 1 on my Kindle now and I'm in a short line for 2 more. I'll have to make note, though.

I like post-apocalyptic fiction--even some of the Zombie ones--because I like seeing how civilization begins anew. That is the kind of issue I like to ponder via fiction only--I don't care to find out how it would be in real life!