July!

[Rowan]

I've read a bit the last few days....

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green - 4 stars (this was really fun bunch of essays)
The Last Word by Taylor Adams - 4 stars (twisty thriller)
Nora Goes Off Script - 5 stars - (great romcom-ish story)

[Sílvia]

I finished Connie Willis's Blackout. Ugh, people were not kidding when they said it has no ending. The book doesn't finish, it simply stops in the middle of a scene. I will not be reading the next one. It had some of my favorite things in fiction (time travel, world war 2), but it was so painfully slow and meandering! 623 pages that could have been told in 200. It had its moments, but I refuse to read another 800 pages of this mess to know how it ends. Actually, I've already read the wikipedia page to find out about that. I can't believe this woman has written one of my favorite books in life (Doomsday Book) and then went on to write not one, but THREE books I couldn't get into. It's like she took the little things that annoyed me in Doomsday Book (but weren't enough to ruin the book) and made them the star of the show in her other books. Oh well.

I started Jurassic Park, which is fun so far, but I'm not sure I'll finish it. We all know the dinosaurs will eat everyone. Plus Isabel Allende's new book comes out in Portuguese tomorrow, so I might abandon whatever else I might be reading at the moment.

[Spudd]

I finished The Delusions of Crowds the other day. That book was way too long. And not very interesting. It has some nuggets but boy it isn't worth the slog.

Now I started Station Eleven. Unfortunately we started watching the miniseries last year so I feel like I'm watching a rerun. I don't think we finished the miniseries, though, so hopefully at some point I won't be so familiar with the material. It's a good book, I just wish I hadn't seen the TV show.

[Sílvia]

Oh, I love Station Eleven! The show is crap, forget about it. I couldn't even finish it. They changed EVERYTHING

[Korie]

Currently reading Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner. So far, so good!

[Sílvia]

Finished Jurassic Park. I liked it, but didn't love it. 3 stars. I might have loved it if I'd read it when it first came out. I thought it dragged a little.

Then I read a book by a French author called Virginie Grimaldi. It was nice for a change of scenery, but it's one of those feel-good books that usually make me sick from all the sugar. 2 stars.

Then I read One by One by Freida McFadden. Her books are so much fun! I know I'm always complaining about far-fetched thrillers, but her books work for me because they're not supposed to be taken seriously. They're short and the writing style is painfully simple, but they're 100% entertainment. The very definition of popcorn thrillers.

And NOW I think the new Isabel Allende is out. It was supposed to be out on the 5th but it wasn't, and the new date was today.

[Sílvia]

Read the new Isabel Allende, The Wind Knows my Name. Loved it, as usual. Though I'm intrigued as to why her books keep getting shorter and shorter. This one was only 258 pages. I wonder if it's some kind of pressure from the market for shorter books? Because everyone's attention span is so short? Idk.

In more book news, I went to goodreads this morning and deleted 90% of my tbr shelf. Having such a long list with books that had been there for several years was not sparking joy, as Marie Kondo would say. It was just making me anxious. The amount of choice for anything these days is just overwhelming.

Not sure what's next.

[Spudd]

I finished Station Eleven a few days ago and loved it. So good!

Now I'm reading Daisy Jones and the Six. I hate it so far. Has anyone read it? Does it get better? Like if I hate the beginning will I hate the whole thing?

[Sílvia]

I finished Station Eleven a few days ago and loved it. So good!

Now I'm reading Daisy Jones and the Six. I hate it so far. Has anyone read it? Does it get better? Like if I hate the beginning will I hate the whole thing?

Agree with you on both counts! So glad you loved Station Eleven! I've read it twice and I'm not even much of a rereader! You should read her latest, Sea of Tranquility. It was another 5-star read for me.

I tried Daisy Jones twice. the first time I must have read 30 pages, the second maybe 60. I hated every minute of it. I just don't care about band histories, I don't know why I ever thought I might like that. I just wanted to give it a try because of the hype and because the show was coming out. And because I did enjoy Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising. But after the second try I decided life's too short.

I'm 64% into the new Kristan Higgins. Love it, as usual.

[Sílvia]

Finished the Kristan Higgins. Loved it. Then I read Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde. A bit sappy like apparently all her books, but it worked for me. 4 stars. I started another one by her, My Name is Anton.

[Spudd]

I'm persisting with Daisy Jones & The Six though I feel like I really should have abandoned it when I was tempted to. But at this point I'm invested and I'm starting to be interested in the characters. But I'm not that into it. Meh.

[Spudd]

I finished Daisy Jones and the Six and my advice is, if you're not into it in the first 30 pages, just quit. It was ok and I did get into a bit more but I would have rather spent my time elsewhere.

Now started Five Total Strangers by Natalie Richards. I only just started so I have no opinion yet.

[Sílvia]

I'm glad I gave up on Daisy Jones, Spudd. Hope your next read is better!