May: What are you reading?

[Rowan]

I started The Bad Daughter by Joy Fielding. Her books are usually easy to read and relatively intriguing.

[Spudd]

I totally spaced that it's already May. Pssst... there are threads on the main forum you can participate in if you want!

[Rowan]

Pssst... there are threads on the main forum you can participate in if you want!

You're cute Spudd...thanks.

I'm so busy at work I feel bad just posting and running away. I will.

PS: Watch the Handmaid's Tale -- I really enjoyed it but it's been 30 years since I read it. #old

[Sílvia]

I read The Grownup and have no recollection whatsoever of what happens in it. Huh. I don't know why I bother buying new books.

Finished The Secrets she Keeps by Michael Robotham. Loved it! The story is not super original (but then what is these days?), but the way he tells it, the character development, were all great. It's a book I'd gladly have read in one sitting if I'd had the time. I was always completely absorbed. This and the previous book I read (Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell) reminded me of exactly why I once thought I was a mystery lover. THIS is the kind of book that leaves me on the edge of my seat. Btw, both books have a lot of the same elements, but are completely different stories. Hm, I'd better put this on GR to remember.

I've just downloaded the sample of another one of his, Say You're Sorry. This is from a series. The Secrets She Keeps is a standalone.

[Sílvia]

Turns out the other Michael Robotham is more in the whodunnit tradition, and I'm not such a fan of those. Maybe some other time. I prefer psychological thrillers (when they're well done and don't make me roll my eyes).

So I started It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. I started this book about a year ago, read maybe the first 100 pages and returned it because I was bored. But it keeps popping up everywhere and has an average goodreads rating of 4.41. That's as high as most of the Harry Potter books. So I'm curious. Something has to happen at some point to warrant that average rating.

[Rowan]

Finished The Bad Daughter - pretty good.

I read the new Curtis Sittenfeld book of short stories: You Think It, I Say It and I didn't really care for it. She's one of my faves but I really don't like short stories.

I'm currently reading a biography called My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach. Definitely different then my usual fare but I'm "enjoying" it.

[Rowan]

I finished My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward - definitely interesting and sad and honest.

I also ready Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight which was good.

I'm halfway through My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent. I started today. The topic is a bit hard but the writing is good.

[Sílvia]

Finished It Ends With Us. Ok, now I understand the high rating, though I don't agree with it. Heavy theme. It was ok. Good in parts, excellent ending at least.

Then I started The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. It's a kids' book (middle grade? It's for ages 10-12) and a sequel to The War that Saved My Life, which we read last year. It's about kids that are evacuated from London during World War 2. Leo and I loved the first one and I'd been waiting for the sequel to come out in Portuguese.

[Spudd]

I finished "After You". I quite liked it, although nowhere near as much as the first one.

Now I'm reading a yoga philosophy book called "Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy" which I don't actually expect to get much out of, but figured I'd give it a try.

[Sílvia]

Finished The War I Finally Won. Just as adorable as the first one. I hope she'll write another one.

Spudd, I feel the same about After You. I really enjoyed it, it was much better than I expected, but obviously not as strong as Me Before You. The last one, however, was crap. I see that I gave it 3 stars on goodreads, but I think that was out of a sense of loyalty towards Jojo.

I'm reading The Puppet Boy of Warsaw by Eva Weaver. I usually love novels set during World War 2, but this one is not working for me. I'll keep reading though because I got to the 42% mark and I already own it. It was one of those kindle offers for a dollar. I usually buy those without even reading the sample if they sound remotely interesting. I should really stop doing that.

[Spudd]

So I should skip the last one I guess?

Sorry to hear about your meh book. It's annoying when you read a book and you're invested enough into it not to want to leave it, but you're not enjoying it that much. Hopefully it's short at least!

[Sílvia]

Well, that's just my opinion! Lots of people seem to love it. I felt it didn't have much of a plot.

Thanks for commiserating. I'm enjoying it more now, actually. The history part is fantastic, it's the fictional part that's a little meh. I learned a lot about the Warsaw ghetto and was even telling Niko last night that if we ever go to Germany (he'd like to because of his ancestry), I'd like to go to Poland, too.

[Rowan]

Re: JoJo Moyes. I loved #1 and didn't like #2 at all. I didn't even consider reading #3. I didn't think that book should have been extended. #moneygrab

I'm reading Allison Winn Scott's latest - Between Me and You. I'm really liking it.

I read Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda this weekend. It took about 40-50 pages to get into it but I really liked it.

[Sílvia]

Ro, at first I thought a sequel to Me Before You was a terrible idea, but I ended up liking what she did with it.

Finished The Puppet Boy of Warsaw and liked it more than I expected, based on my first impressions. 3 stars.

Last night I started the sample of Lilac Girls, another WW2 novel that's been on my list since it came out a couple of years ago.

[Spudd]

I finished a book I was reading for yoga homework / exam prep, and decided to treat myself to a fiction book as a follow-up. So I started Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty. So far it seems good.