May! What are you reading?

[Rowan]

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld. I was worried because it's a modern day version of Pride and Prejudice which I've never read but I'm really liking it. It's quirky though.

[Sílvia]

Finished In the Woods by Tana French. Loved it. Well, the ending was less than satisfying, but still 4 stars because that doesn't erase the greatness of the rest of the book. I love how her novels are not *just* murder mysteries (which I'm normally not crazy about. I think they're so formulaic.) She gives life to all her characters, and I ended up caring more about her detectives than about the murder being investigated. It was my second by her (the first was Faithful Place, also very good) and definitely not my last. In fact, I've already started the sample of The Likeness. I can't remember the last time I liked a book so much that I immediately picked up another book from the same author. It also restored my faith in longer books: 593 pages and not a single one of them boring.

[Rowan]

Eligible was just ok.

I read 2 other meh books at the rink this weekend. The Wonder Garden was one. Rave reviews but I thought it was awful.

I'm reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See right now that is really just great.

[Spudd]

I finished The Admissions by Meg someone Moore the other day, and really liked it.

Now I'm reading "The Snowball" by Alice Someone about Warren Buffett.

[Sílvia]

Did you get your kindle back, Spudd?

[Spudd]

No, not till Father's Day. I'm reading on my ipad for now, which sucks but is workable.

[Sílvia]

Why don't you ask them to mail it?

[Spudd]

I don't want to put my dad out. I'm sure he would do it but it's not that big of a deal.

[Sílvia]

Oh, ok. I guess I'm more addicted than you

[Rowan]

I liked Shanghai Girls but I thought the ending was rushed and incomplete. Almost like her publisher said: book is due - give me whatever you have.

I read a decluttering book last night. Instead of actually decluttering. Hahaha. I suck.

Up next is The Last Girl by John?Joe? Hart. A recommendation from a friend. Dystopian apparently.

[Sílvia]

Ugh. Finished The Likeness, but almost gave it up. Why can't authors be consistently good? This was SO. SLOW. The premise was ridiculous, but I knew about it when I started. But it took her 100 freaking pages to get to the point that was summarized in the blurb. Seriously? When I got to the halfway mark I just started skimming. So many unnecessary dialogs, so much description. There's a lot of things I can get past in a book. Boredom is not one of them.

Next up is Orphan Train. I bought it without even reading the sample because it was 3 dollars on kindle. It has happened to me before to see a book I want for 2-3 dollars, then I don't buy it immediately and when I do decide to buy it it's up to 8-10 dollars, so when I saw Orphan Train for that price I just bought it. Hope I like it.

[Rowan]

Syl, I can't remember how we stack up in regards to book liking but I really liked Orphan Train!

[Rowan]

I abandoned The Last Girl. I didn't like the writing.

I read Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline. I know I've liked stuff from her in the past but I thought her dialog was just clumsy.

Not sure what's next on the pile.

[Sílvia]

Ro, I know, I remember you mentioned it the other day I think we agree more often than not. We'll see. I'm 33% in and so far I like it.

[Bugsy]

While camping thus past weekend I finished my book club's selection: "The Mermaid Chair," by Sue Monk Kidd. I can't quite decide how I feel about it. There was some really lovely writing throughout (even dog-eared a couple pages to write down the lines I liked most), but in the end...meh. 3 stars. Maybe 2. The overall premise was just kind of strange, and I'm not sure that it all fit together cleanly. Seemed a bit clumsy or something at times.

And then I started "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking," by Susan Cain. It's OK so far. Not sure it will have any new info, but it's always fun reading about how awesome introverts are.

[Sílvia]

Uh, didn't like Orphan Train much. Sorry, Ro! I thought the writing was too simplistic, the story too predictable. I did, however, want to finish it, which is more than I can say about many books out there, and was never bored. The pacing was good.

Then I started a Sophie Hannah. I think it's Hurting Distance. Her books always grip me from page 1, but the last one I read (Little Face) had a really stupid resolution after all that grippingness. I hope this one's better.

[Sílvia]

I realized I'd read a spoiler about the Sophie Hannah, so I gave it up. I really should stop reading people's reviews on goodreads.

Then I read In a Dark, Dark Wood, which I ranted about in my culture thread. It was completely forgettable. Laughable plot. Shame, it started well. Not sure what's next. I signed up for a free 1-month trial of kindle unlimited yesterday. It's 99% crap (erotica, self-help, authors no one's heard of), but there are millions of books, so you might find something interesting in that 1%. I found a Katherine Webb and The Winter People (Jennifer McMahon?), which had been on my radar, so far. It also has The Hunger Games. Apparently I'm the only THer who hasn't read it. We'll see. At least if I'm gonna read crap, I'd rather pay 6 dollars per month instead of 6-10 per book! It's pretty much like a library, if you consider the money you'd spend on gas to get to one. Anyway, I'm not too hopeful, I'll probably cancel after a month or 2.

[Sílvia]

I'm reading The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. It seemed like a fun concept (3 friends turning 50 go back in time to the year they turned 40 to change events in their lives), but so far I'm bored. 34% in. So much so that last night, after watching the preview of Me Before You, I started re-reading it in preparation for the movie. Only picked up The Year... after I'd been reading Me Before You for half an hour!

[Bugsy]

Finished "Quiet," and I loved it. 5 stars. Highly recommended.

I have "The Burgess Boys" by Elizabeth Strout on audio book for my drive to and from hometown today, and I also started "Tiger Eyes" by Judy Blume for a quick read.

[Sílvia]

Yeah, The Year we Turned Forty was meh. Fourth book I don't like in a row I was curious about how it would end, though. But other than the time travel aspect, the plot was so mundane.

I started The Legacy by Katherine Webb on kindle unlimited, and I've already canceled my subscription because I don't think it's worth it (the few interesting books I found there are cheap to buy anyway, so not worth the subscription), but this one's on my free trial, so yay! Free book. I like it so far.

Blush, do these detective novels by Kate Atkinson follow the same mindfuck pattern of Life After Life? Because I've been curious, but I was deeply frustrated by that book. I felt like the moment I was getting engrossed in one of the plotlines in that one, it'd be over. Are these more, say, linear?