Off-Topic Winter Reading 2018-2019 - Page 6

Pat58 · 01-20-19, 01:15 PM

Hello everyone! I had an absolute binge of reading while recovering from surgery, and have another nine more delicious days to read!

1 - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This was a book club read, otherwise I would not have made myself finish it. It's weird and downright sick a lot of the time. It made me wonder how some of these gadawful books wind up on the "notable literary works" shelf. One star only because of some really weird happenings while I skimmed through it.

2 - The Lines We Leave Behind by Eliza Graham. A historical fiction about WWII resistance with a twist - it occurs in Egypt and Yugoslavia. It swings between the heroin's time in training and active service, with her time in an asylum picking up the pieces of her life. A page turner, at times feels surreal. Four stars.

3 - The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani. I wanted SO much to love this book. It is a cultural fiction about an Indian American woman, her troubled relationship with her mother and her trip to her grandmother's village to sort out her own life. It is so rich with opportunities - Indian culture, gender roles, the caste system, Hinduism - but it slips into romance paperback cheesiness at times and is predictable and often unbelievable. It was still an enjoyable and easy read - three stars because of the annoyances.

4 - A Killer's Mind by Mike Omer. This is my first Mike Omer book, I'd never heard of him. It is a murder mystery, which at first I feared was going to be an attempt to recreate Silence of the Lambs. Fortunately it took off on its own and I really enjoyed it. Sped through it - drama and some silliness combined. Four stars.

Pat58 · 01-20-19, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toaster

Has anyone read any Jill Mansell? I finished my first book from her yesterday, To the Moon and Back, and I really liked it! She reminded me quite a bit of Maeve Binchy in the way she interwove stories and had kind of that irreverent attitude. I'd be interested in other recommendations for her books!

Thanks Beth, I put this on my wish list.

anetta · 01-20-19, 08:56 PM

I haven't read Jill Mansell-is her format similar to Mary Kay Andrews?

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions.

Anita

lreidgreen · 01-20-19, 09:36 PM

Pat, I could not get 20 pages into One Hundred Years of Solitude. That was years ago. Our book group was supposed to read The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie a long time ago we all gave up on it!

I am reading Pachinko now and really enjoying it.
My next book will be Educated for my book group. Pachinko was for book group too but I couldn't make that meeting and just found time recently to read it.
I started listening to An American Marriage as I downloaded the audio book from the library on a lark. I then got sidetracked listening to podcasts. It didn't hold my interest.

Taramisu · 01-21-19, 06:42 AM

I started Elizabeth Lynn Casey's Southern Sewing Circle mystery series in October. I will finish Needle and Dread today and then will start Patterned After Death which is the last book in the series. I wasn't sure about the series when I started as it was a little slow but overall I have really enjoyed the series. I even bought them all used.

I have also read the entire Amish Mystery series by Laura Bradford, Just Plain Murder came out a few months ago and I read that, good as always. It's hard for me to pick a favorite between the two, I really liked both. I also read her Emergency Dessert Squad series. I liked that one as well, cute idea but I liked the Sewing Circle and Amish series better. If another book comes out, I will read it but most likely rent it instead of buy. I hope the Amish series continues, but will likely be a while before the next book comes out.

I bought also Burns and Jenkins mystery series which I have been reading on the Kindle, shorter series but will finish those here. Then I need to get back to Laura Levine's Jaine Austen series and finish those books which will take a while. The next one I need to read is Shoes to Die For.

sherry7899 · 01-21-19, 07:42 AM

Taramisu, there was a knitting themed mystery series I read years ago. If I can remember the author, I will post her name later.

BunnyHop · 01-21-19, 10:51 AM

I started reading Kate Atkinson's Transcription yesterday and so far it's very absorbing.

(Started Still Life by Louise Penny back in early December and still haven't finished it. Talk about slow reading. There's a lot to be said for dependable authors and owning your own books.)

goldengirl · 01-21-19, 04:38 PM

I loved Still Life. It was the first book I read by Louise Penny. I wanted to read the rest of the books in that series until I found out how many there are.

BunnyHop · 01-21-19, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldengirl

I loved Still Life. It was the first book I read by Louise Penny. I wanted to read the rest of the books in that series until I found out how many there are.

Just think of the series as a permanent source of something to read when you can't figure out what to read. I did that with Robin Hobb once and managed to reread almost the whole series.

I'm kind of surprised that I've done so little reading in the last month. This is probably the slowest month of reading I've had in years.

Sissy B · 01-21-19, 07:19 PM

I'm working through Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series right now. I just finished book 5, The Brutal Telling, and I have the next 3 books in the series on hold at the library. I read a couple and then I read something else so I don't get burned out. I have found in the past that if I try to read too many in a series in a row without reading something else in between that tends to happen.

Right now I'm reading The Deep End by Julie Mulhern.

Support VF
VF Membership Subscription
Shop These Vendors
Activa	Collage Video
Amazon.com	eBay.com
Amazon.ca (Canada)	Half.com
Amazon.co.uk (UK)	Junonia
Amazon.fr (France)	Onehanesplace.com
BN.com	Overstock.com
Buy.com	Road Runner Sports
CenturyFitness.com	Sierra Trading Post

01-20-19, 01:15 PM
Pat58 VF Supporter Join Date: May 2002 Location: Connecticut	Hello everyone! I had an absolute binge of reading while recovering from surgery, and have another nine more delicious days to read! 1 - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This was a book club read, otherwise I would not have made myself finish it. It's weird and downright sick a lot of the time. It made me wonder how some of these gadawful books wind up on the "notable literary works" shelf. One star only because of some really weird happenings while I skimmed through it. 2 - The Lines We Leave Behind by Eliza Graham. A historical fiction about WWII resistance with a twist - it occurs in Egypt and Yugoslavia. It swings between the heroin's time in training and active service, with her time in an asylum picking up the pieces of her life. A page turner, at times feels surreal. Four stars. 3 - The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani. I wanted SO much to love this book. It is a cultural fiction about an Indian American woman, her troubled relationship with her mother and her trip to her grandmother's village to sort out her own life. It is so rich with opportunities - Indian culture, gender roles, the caste system, Hinduism - but it slips into romance paperback cheesiness at times and is predictable and often unbelievable. It was still an enjoyable and easy read - three stars because of the annoyances. 4 - A Killer's Mind by Mike Omer. This is my first Mike Omer book, I'd never heard of him. It is a murder mystery, which at first I feared was going to be an attempt to recreate Silence of the Lambs. Fortunately it took off on its own and I really enjoyed it. Sped through it - drama and some silliness combined. Four stars.

01-20-19, 08:56 PM
anetta Join Date: Sep 2004	I haven't read Jill Mansell-is her format similar to Mary Kay Andrews? Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. Anita

01-20-19, 09:36 PM
lreidgreen VF Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New Jersey	Pat, I could not get 20 pages into One Hundred Years of Solitude. That was years ago. Our book group was supposed to read The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie a long time ago we all gave up on it! I am reading Pachinko now and really enjoying it. My next book will be Educated for my book group. Pachinko was for book group too but I couldn't make that meeting and just found time recently to read it. I started listening to An American Marriage as I downloaded the audio book from the library on a lark. I then got sidetracked listening to podcasts. It didn't hold my interest.

01-21-19, 06:42 AM
Taramisu VF Supporter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: NA	I started Elizabeth Lynn Casey's Southern Sewing Circle mystery series in October. I will finish Needle and Dread today and then will start Patterned After Death which is the last book in the series. I wasn't sure about the series when I started as it was a little slow but overall I have really enjoyed the series. I even bought them all used. I have also read the entire Amish Mystery series by Laura Bradford, Just Plain Murder came out a few months ago and I read that, good as always. It's hard for me to pick a favorite between the two, I really liked both. I also read her Emergency Dessert Squad series. I liked that one as well, cute idea but I liked the Sewing Circle and Amish series better. If another book comes out, I will read it but most likely rent it instead of buy. I hope the Amish series continues, but will likely be a while before the next book comes out. I bought also Burns and Jenkins mystery series which I have been reading on the Kindle, shorter series but will finish those here. Then I need to get back to Laura Levine's Jaine Austen series and finish those books which will take a while. The next one I need to read is Shoes to Die For.

01-21-19, 07:42 AM
sherry7899 Join Date: Jun 2003	Taramisu, there was a knitting themed mystery series I read years ago. If I can remember the author, I will post her name later. __________________ "Say you are tired and you will be. Believe you are strong and you are." (Sean O'Malley) The cat in my avatar is my sweetheart named Bonkers

01-21-19, 10:51 AM
BunnyHop Join Date: Nov 2008	I started reading Kate Atkinson's Transcription yesterday and so far it's very absorbing. (Started Still Life by Louise Penny back in early December and still haven't finished it. Talk about slow reading. There's a lot to be said for dependable authors and owning your own books.) __________________ Anna

01-21-19, 04:38 PM
goldengirl Join Date: May 2004	I loved Still Life. It was the first book I read by Louise Penny. I wanted to read the rest of the books in that series until I found out how many there are.

01-21-19, 07:19 PM
Sissy B Join Date: Oct 2002	I'm working through Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series right now. I just finished book 5, The Brutal Telling, and I have the next 3 books in the series on hold at the library. I read a couple and then I read something else so I don't get burned out. I have found in the past that if I try to read too many in a series in a row without reading something else in between that tends to happen. Right now I'm reading The Deep End by Julie Mulhern.