2013....It's January what are you reading??

[Rowan]

I'm reading The Other Woman by Hank Phillipi Ryan. I picked it up randomly at the library because the author sounded familiar. Turns out she was a broadcaster in Boston when I was a kid (probably still now) so I heard her name a lot as a kid. Funny.

It's not bad but waiting for it to pick up.

[Annie]

I'm working on "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed. REALLY good.

[Sílvia]

I'm reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett and I'm hating it (sorry, Annie and Mellen). I'm finding it insanely boring and the only reason I keep reading is because I'm at the beach house with no other options, and I'm more than halfway through at this point. But ugh. It has *exactly* what I was fearing: endless, detailed descriptions of the rain forest. I'm Brazilian!! I may never have *been* to the fucking forest, but I sure as hell don't need a 2-paragraph description of what the rain feels like in the forest. I grew up watching those documentaries. Gaaaaaah!! Nothing ever HAPPENS in that book!

[mellenhead]

Sorry, Sil! I adored that book.

I'm starting The Road to Woodbury by Robert Kirkman tonight. It's an offshoot of The Walking Dead comics.

[Annie]

Oh no!!! We led you astray! Eek! Sorry you're stranded with a bad book. Lame.

[Rowan]

I was bored with The Other Woman so put it aside for Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff. Much better....

[mellenhead]

I finished The Road to Woodbury. Eh, it was about what you would expect from a novel based on an offshoot of the comics. The overall story was really good and tied in well but the writing was clunky.

Next up is The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser.

[Sílvia]

Eh, that's ok. I should have trusted my instincts. I wonder if I'll ever finish it, though, since I always pass out after 10 pages

[mellenhead]

I liked The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser, but it's older and some of the information from when it was published has now been proven incorrect. So it kind of bugged me thru the whole book.

I picked up a bunch of stuff at the library tonight. The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers, The People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Llyod Parry, A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin and Wonder by R.J. Palacio (which is geared toward middle school kids, but I've heard really good things about it).

[Spudd]

I finished "The Devil's Feather" by Minette Walters. It was pretty good.

Now I'm reading "18 Minutes" which is a business self-help book. So far, meh.

[Annie]

I finished "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed (excellent!) and started "Age of Miracles". It's decent. It moves along quickly even though I haven't figured out what the actual plot is, beyond the sci-fi concept of time slowing down.

[Sílvia]

I'm reading The Secret Life of Bees a decade after the rest of human kind. Or at least US readers. I thought it started out well, but now it's slowing down. Grrrr... this is the fourth book in a row that's left me unimpressed.

[Sílvia]

Ok, I take that back. There were 30 pages or so in there that felt a little slow, but it's back on track and I'm thoroughly (sp?) enjoying it!

[Rowan]

Finished Broken Harbor by Tana French and really liked it. It was a recommendation from Stephen King. He's usually spot on for my tastes.

Not sure what's next. Really need to get to the library. Started the new Elizabeth Lowell at hockey yesterday but was really boring. I hate when good writers waste their time on a poor series. Just write stand alone books dammit.

[Annie]

I finished "The Age of Miracles" and ended up really liking it. Even though the actual plot was a little weak, I decided the sci-fi concept was intriguing enough to carry it. It wasn't extraordinary writing but it was a fast and entertaining read.

Not sure what's next for me. I have "The Fault in Our Stars" but it's due back. I could renew it but I'm not that motivated to read it. So maybe I'll just go to the library and see what I can find.

[mellenhead]

Silvia I couldn't finish that book.

Me either, it bored me to tears! Glad it picked up for you though.

I'm about 400 pages in to the 5th Game of Thrones book, Dance with Dragons. I love this series but god is this book DRAGGING. He keeps introducing new characters and it's making me crazy.

[Bugsy]

No spoilers please, Mellenhead! I haven't started that one yet, because I'm guessing he won't write the last one for a while yet and want to lessen the gap as much as possible.

I'm in a reading funk. It took me 3 weeks to read "The Hobbit"! I have the first two from The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher that were loaned from a coworker. Have any of you read them? I'm planning to take them to Jamaica for hopefully quick reading on the plane and beach.

[Rowan]

Haven't read anything by Jim Butcher...wish I could help!

Just finished reading How to TAlk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper. I love him. He just nails language and characters. I just finished reading it side by side with M who is reading the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Can't tell you how amazing it is to have him reading to himself next to me. He's come a long way since last year. I'm really hoping the reading bug has finally been passed on.

We need to hit the library today.

[Sílvia]

That's awesome, Ro! Can't wait to have a little reader next to me!

I finished The Secret Life of Bees. It was decent, but I can see how you could find it boring if you're not in the right mood. It had a decent plot and well-defined characters IMO (I didn't have to turn back the pages to remind myself who was who), but the bee talk and the virgin Mary talk were too much for my taste. The ending was very satisfying, positive but without a miracle solution to every problem. Overall I give it 3 stars.

Now I started The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Triggiani, but have onlyread 15 pages or so because I've been spending every evening online obsessively researching adoptable dogs.

[mellenhead]

Gotcha Bugsy! I thought you had read it already. I know the speculation is that the next one won't be out til 2015!

Rowan, that's great about M. I'm so hoping Jake is a reader.