What are you reading, July - YouLookFab Forum

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What are you reading, July

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

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New month, new thread: I just finished The One To Watch, by Kate Stayman-London: chick lit/romance with the premise that the protagonist, a plus-size fashion blogger, has been asked to star on a The Bachelor/ette-type show to find love. I've never watched any of those shows but found it an enjoyable read instead. Lots of fashion references, and a juicy-enough plot.

I'm trying to listen to An Ember in the Ashes again - it's a teen fantasy/dystopia novel, which I read some of when it came out and never made it through. I thought maybe doling it out in audiobook in the car might work better, but the initial set-up is just so dark: a totalitarian empire with the male protagonist a cadet in their secret police, and the female protagonist a member of the oppressed minority whose family has just been killed. I like the world-building (it's kind of an alternate history Roman empire) and the author's interviews but yikes...

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Latest reply was from JAileen

JAileen

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I just finished the second Louise Penny, A Fatal Grace, and started the fourth Percy Jackson (by Rick Riordan), Battle of the Labyrinth. It is a juvenile book, just like Harry Potter, but with Greek gods instead of witchcraft.

The Louise Penny was very good, much better than Robin Cook’s Outbreak which I finished last week. It came out over 30 years ago, and was about Ebola. A friend read the first Louise Penny, and couldn’t stand it. They remind me of Agatha Christie, but a little slower paced. The detective is not prickly like Hercule Poirot. I still have A Burning by Megha Majumdar. I’ll give it another chance after Percy Jackson.

I’m thankful our library has ebooks. The regular library is still closed.

Anonymous

Janet - I've read most of the Louise Penny books, but finally stopped after the stories became more preposterous than the one before. How much crime can one Quebec township have ?? She's a good writer though.

JAileen

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Lisa, have you seen Midsummer Murders? It’s been on tv for 20 years. We always joke how could such a small community have such a high murder rate.

I had to stop reading Patricia Cornwell because the descriptions of the murders got too gruesome to bear anymore.

Anonymous

Just started Moon Dog Magic, the first of the Rune Witch series. The premise is a teenage witch that unknowingly calls up berzerkers. And the Norse gods are alive, but without power. Reminds me of the Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson) books a bit.

cindysmith

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I'm reading the Song of Ice and Fire books (Game of Thrones)

kkards

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Also working thru the Louise Penny books, on book 3, not reading but listening to the audio book. I’m assuming at some point, I’ll reach the same conclusion as Lisap and walk away, but for now, its a nice way tp pass the time

MsMaven

Veteran

Thanks for starting this thread, Laura.

I finished reading The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. I loved this novel. Lots of surprises, mystery, romance, history, even some Shakespeare and philosophy. I couldn't wait to find out what happens next, but then it got to be so intense I had to put it down for a while.

Now I'm reading The Room Where It Happened. A couple of chapters are tedious, others are fascinating, especially the ones that deal with Russia and China. Bolton's a good writer, adds lots of details on the inner workings of not just the White House, which we've had plenty of already, but the different US government agencies working together or not together. Bolton isn't preachy about his own political views, but anyone who reads this will already be aware of them.

I haven't read the last Penny book, but have enjoyed all the others. I'll get to it one of these days.

Next book up is The Devil: A New Biography, by Philip Almond. I found this after looking through pages and pages on the Cornell U. book sale list. Looks interesting. Will report.

Anonymous

Janet - no, not familiar with it.

Runcarla

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In exchange for making masks, some folks have sent me books to read from their own collections by way of ‘payment’. I did not want renumeration, but suggested they surprise me with a book that they enjoyed and thought I might like as well. I’m really enjoying the diversity of interesting material.

I’m half way through ‘Pathlogies’ by our own Suz! I’ve been reading a chapter every am before I get out of bed, but sometimes I cheat and read an extra one. :-). In the pm I read light fare, and I’m going to start ‘Mesmerized’ by Candace Camp tonight. I’ve got 3 other completely different books in my ‘to read pile’ - ‘The Nightingale’ by Kristin Hannah, ‘The House of Broken Angels by Louis Alberto Urrea, and ‘The Sapphire Widow’ by Dinah Jeffries.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

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The Nightingale is great, but heavy at times - I had to take breaks to get through it.

I read Get Out of Your Own Way, by Dave Hollis - he's Rachel Hollis's husband (the Girl Wash Your Face lady). I haven't read her books yet but I enjoyed his. Self help but not too gimmicky and the Christian aspect is lightly touched upon.

Also got through Redhead by the Side of the Road, by Anne Tyler - well-drawn characters but quite short and felt more like a short story thematically as well. And a really good (m/f) romance that I'd recommend, Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams. Apparently it's part of a series and I'm going to try to find them all. The male lead gets to have friends! And all the male characters are well-fleshed out and get a lot of screen time!

Sara L.

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Ooh, I've read Ember in the Ashes and the next two in the series. I generally avoid series until all the books are published but I screwed up with this one. I mistakenly thought it was a trilogy but there's actually 4 books and the 4th one isn't published yet. They're all pretty dark although at the end of the third book, all the main characters are still alive, so that's something.

I'm reading This is How You Lose the Time War. Sci-fi + time travel + romance + epistolary format = odd but good (so far).

Roxanna

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My favorite this month has been The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. He wrote mini-essays for a year on delights in his life - but the delights are very grounded and often mixed in with the realities of his life as a black man in the US. It is funny and moving and sweet and NOT what you expect, and you just want to pull up a chair and have a glass of iced tea and a chat with him.

Echo

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I just started Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates by Eric Dolan and This is Your Brain on Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society by Kathleen McAuliffe. Both non-fiction, and both very entertaining reads.

Mostly, though, I've been slogging through Special Education in Contemporary Society by Richard Gargiulo for a class I'm taking. Interesting at times, but not nearly as entertaining!

JAileen

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I just finished Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford. It is a novel about the early days of the BBC. I didn’t realize some of the characters were real until I looked them up on Wikipedia.

Anonymous

Dear Carla, moving a couple of years ago, only the most essential books made the cut and most were trusted cookbooks. I will have to shop for a book when those stores are open. Your beautiful masks are much appreciated and get daily wear. They are DH’s favorite, mine too, as I wear sun glasses when I go out,

Runcarla

Veteran

No worries, Joy. I have plenty of material to read and there is no obligation on your part. I give the masks I make away, with no expectation of renumeration. The book thing is just a fun idea.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

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Roxanna, I just put The Book of Delights on my library wish list - thanks.

I've started of Oona Out of Order - the basic premise is that she lives her life well, out of order, where each New Year's Day she wakes up in a different year, jumping around, whereas everyone else experiences things in the ordinary way. So far it's good. Also got Paul Krugman's new book of essays from the library, Arguing with Zombies.

AndiB

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I just finished The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - about a year in the life of Winston Churchill Just before the US entered WW2, excellent. Next up? How to be an Antiracist by Ibram x Kendi. I read his Stamped from the Beginning earlier in the year. Hard reads but necessary.

JAileen

Veteran

I just finished The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow. It’s a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, and is principally about Mary. I enjoyed it very much.