May!

[Sílvia]

I read The Mist by Stephen King. I think it qualifies as a novella. It was gripping, but I wasn't a fan of the ending. Apparently there's a movie with a much better ending.

I bought 2 books that had been on my list for a while, both for US$4.60 on kindle: The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles and Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones. The former is set in Brazil. The author is Brazilian, but I think has lived in the US for most of her life and writes in English (though I bought the translation.) The latter is a story that revolves around the construction of the cathedral of Santa María del Mar in Barcelona and the dramas of the people involved in it. Some people on goodreads are saying it's a rip-off of Pillars of the Earth. I hope it is!

Oh, and I think I've given up on The World According to Garp. Too weird and not gripping enough (I could embrace the weirdness if it were more gripping.)

[Blush]

Last night I finished Where the Heart Is. It was cheesy, but I kind of need cheesy right now.

Not sure what's next.

Edit: I decided on The Dark Eyed Girls by Judith Lennox.

[Sílvia]

I finished The Air You Breathe. Didn't like it much. I liked the atmosphere, but the story was painfully predictable and never gripped me.

Then yesterday I read We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda I can't spell her other names. It was very good and accessible and should be required reading at schools all around the world. I was shocked to learn how much more sexist Nigeria is than Brazil. I got it for free on Amazon, yay!

I started Hunger Games the other day. I'm only at 16%. It's readable so far, I'm fairly interested, but I'm still not sure it'll be my thing. Anyway, I already own it because I bought it for Leo, so I'll keep reading at least a little bit every day.

ETA: I also started rereading The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde with one of my students. If you haven't read it, you should, at least once in your life. You read it in one sitting and it's brilliant and hilarious.

[Spudd]

I finished "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis, and enjoyed it. It was more comedic than the first one which I had mixed feelings about, but I still liked it.

I'm now continuing on the Connie Willis train and started "Blackout".

[Blush]

I finished The Dark Eyed Girls. It was just what I needed; totally absorbing.

Now I have The Night Garden by Polly Horvath. It's meant for pre-teens; I won it in a giveaway a couple of years ago and haven't read it yet.

[Sílvia]

Spudd, I'm glad you enjoyed To Say Nothing... I thought she was trying to stretch the joke too much and didn't want to spend 500 pages on it, but I might change my mind one day. Let us know what you think of Blackout.

I finished Hunger Games. It was enjoyable, I was involved in the world she created and thought the story moved fast enough to never bore me, but I didn't love it. In an unfortunate coincidence, I'm also reading The Selection with one of my students and there are so many of the same elements, even though Hunger Games is dark and depressing and The Selection is a fluffy predictable romance.

Then I started a Nora Roberts called Montana Sky. It belongs to my mom, so also free We've both always made fun of Nora Roberts for writing the kind of formulaic, commercial books she does, but we'd never actually read any of them until my mom bought this one some years ago. Then she was totally gripped She's read a few others by her since then. This is my first.

[Blush]

I finished The Night Garden. It started off charmingly. Quirky but fun, and then it just got a bit too weird. I think even if I had been 10 or 11 I might have rolled my eyes.

Now I have a suspense novel: Fear The Worst by Linwood Barclay.

[Rowan]

Blush - I generally like Barclay's novels curious as to what you thought.

I finished Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald. Not sure what it is but I love historical fiction about NYC. I hate the city now - LOATHE it but I like old timey NY. I liked this - takes place in Grand Central Terminal.

I'm flicking between physical books and ebooks right now to keep myself entertained. I started Kitchens of the Great Midwest as ebook but I"m only a few pages in. I really liked the author's newest The Lager Queen of Minnesota so I figure I will continue.

[Blush]

Rowan, I usually like Barclay but I have to space out his books. I like that this one is a one-off and not part of a series.

I have also learned he's written some political satire skewering a couple of our Conservative premiers here in Ontario: the current guy and the guy who was in power in the 90s. I have to get my hands on those books!

[Blush]

I finished Fear The Worst. It was about what I expected.

Now I have "Goodnight From London", a Jennifer Robson book about a female journalist in WWII.

[Blush]

Last night I finished Goodnight from London. It was great.

Now I have a Lisa Scottoline novel called Most Wanted and I've already rolled my eyes a dozen times in the first 100 pages. This book could be half as long; it's already repeated itself a bunch of times.

[Spudd]

Last night I finished Blackout by Connie Willis, next up is All Clear. It ended with a huge cliffhanger so I can't not continue with the series.

Thanks for the suggestion, Silvia!

[Sílvia]

Glad you're enjoying the series, Spudd! So can I skip To Say Nothing and go straight to Blackout?

I couldn't stomach the Nora Roberts. Reread What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty instead. Now I'm reading The Cathedral of the Sea and Me Without You by Kelly Rimmer, which was free.

[Spudd]

Yeah, you definitely can. "To Say Nothing" is a departure.

[Sílvia]

Cool, thanks!