December! Whatcha reading?

[Bugsy]

I stopped "The Republican Noise Machine." It was interesting but getting repetitive so early into it that I just couldn't bear the thought of continuing. A hold just came in for "Man's Search for Meaning," by Victor Frankl, so that's next.

[mellenhead]

Normal by Warren Ellis - eh. It was ok.

Mischling by Affinity Konar - Excellent but also very sad. It's written from the point of view of twin girls that are in Auschwitz and experimented on by Josef Mengele.

I just started Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein. It is short stories, the stories remind of the show Black Mirror. Really good so far.

[Rowan]

Hey I read Mischling recently too. It was sad. Haunting even.

I need to update....

[Rowan]

Here's my update:

7 Ways We Lie – YA – this was fine
One – YA -- fine
The Year We Turned 40 – coulda skipped
The Best of Us -- usually like this author but didn’t like this; I have an issue with cheating in books, I need to learn to stay away
Queen Takes King – again liked something else from this author but not this one

I just read a book M just finished so elementary level. It was good. Out of Her Mind. About a 6th grader with cerebral palsy who is very bright but nobody knows because she can't communicate.

Not sure what's next...

[Sílvia]

Ro, I loved Out of My Mind. Didn't like The Year we Turned Forty.

Finished The Perfect Girl last night. It was intensely boring. I was very disappointed because I LOVED her first book, What She Knew, but this just dragged and dragged. I really should give the psychological thriller/drama genre a break. I'm pissed at wasting my time much more often than I'm entertained.

Now I'll either read the second in the Bridgertons series by Julia Quinn (the first was super fun, don't be put off by the cheesy pink cover) or a Brazilian rom-com.

[mellenhead]

Finished Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein. I am not usually a short story collection fan but these were excellent. If you like future sci/fi, Westworld, Black Mirror, etc give this book a try.

[Bugsy]

Thanks for the recommendation, Mellenhead!

[Bugsy]

Just finished "Man's Search for Meaning," by Victor Frankl. Oof...Heavy reading but such a great book. Easily 5 stars. I will read more by him for sure. Highly, highly recommended.

That brings me to 26 books this year. Goal is 30, so I will just miss it. If I hadn't paused to peruse Amsterdam guide books I'd probably meet it, but that is quite OK. Will just try again next year!

Next is probably "Night Road," by Kristin Hannah. It's the next selection for book club.

[Sílvia]

I read a short story by Sarah Pekkanen called Love, Accidentally. I was underwhelmed. It felt like a first chapter of a longer novel, then it ended.

Then I started Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/281 ... g-midnight Sucked me right in. I love a good post-apocalypse tale. Hope it lives up to the first 50 pages.

[Bugsy]

Finished "Night Road," by Kristin Hannah. It was a captivating read, but I didn't love it. Not sure I'd seek out anything else by her, either. Not sure what's next. Need to see what's readily available so I don't have to wait on a hold to come in.

Edit: the winner is "The Book Thief," by Markus Zusak. Several folks I know rated it really highly, but it looks like Silvia hated it. Hope I am in the former camp!

[Sílvia]

I'm sure you'll like it! I remember I hated the writing style, not the plot so much. This was (along with All the Light we Cannot See) one of the rare novels on WW2 I didn't like.

I'm curious about the Kristin Hannah. I've read 2 of her novels, one I thought was super melodramatic and hated, the other I loved (The Nightingale, set in WW2.)

[Spudd]

I finished the "Chaos Walking" trilogy by Patrick Ness last night. I wouldn't give it the heartiest of recommendations, but it was definitely a page-turner and I wanted to see how it came out. It's kind of post-apocalyptic YA.

I don't know what's next yet. I just got a book from the library yesterday that I might read next, called "The Question of the Missing Head". It depends if I get around to loading it onto my Kindle or not.

[Bugsy]

Silvia, I see what you mean about writing style. It was pretty painful last night when I started it, but I tried again this morning on my commute. It was a lot easier going, so maybe I'm getting used to it. Hopefully I like it!

So you *did* like "The Nightingale"?

"The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss is en route to my library too, so if I end up hating "The Book Thief," that will be next.

[Sílvia]

Yeah, I loved it. There was a love story in it that I thought was a bit contrived, but I loved everything else about it.

[Bugsy]

Those were good instructions, Blush. I'm on page 101 now and am sucked into the story. The writing style is much less jarring now as well. I'm glad I stuck with it.

[mellenhead]

Troublemaker by Leah Remini - it was pretty good, interesting stuff about Scientology.

Then read Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavage Hill - she's the niece of David Miscavage who runs Scientology now. It was interesting but needed some editing.

Then skimmed Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham. What a money grab. I mostly wanted to read about her time on Gilmore Girls but it was just surface babbling with no real depth. It read like she sat down and cranked out the entire book in the couple days.

[Bugsy]

Stayed up late last night to finish "The Book Thief." In the end, I was thinking it'd get 4 stars, but after sleeping on it and reading a few Goodreads reviews, it got 3. The format and style get points for creativity, but they also made for a jarring reading experience. It also really bothered me that Death constantly did spoilers! Like one reviewer said, there weren't a lot of *events* in this book, so it would have been nice to just experience them without already having been told the outcome.

So that brings me two shy of my goal of 30 books. Oh well. If we hadn't gone to Amsterdam, for which I paused pleasure reading and perused several travel guide books instead (but didn't *read* them and therefore didn't count them in my total), I'd have made it. WORTH IT!

[Sílvia]

Finished Good Morning, Midnight. LOVED it. Here's what I wrote on goodreads, for Rowan's benefit: This book is slow-moving, descriptive and character-driven. All words that would normally send me running in the opposite direction. But the theme and setting here attracted me and I'm glad they did, because this is such a gem. Don't go in expecting your average action-packed, page-turning post-apocalypse story. This is something else.

[Spudd]

I started a book called "Sweat Equity" which is a non-fiction about the business of fitness. It's pretty interesting.

[Bugsy]

Silvia, that *does* sound like something you'd hate, so since you loved it, I just added it to my list.