October! What are you reading?

[Rowan]

Sorry ladies....I was traveling this weekend.

I read 2 more Joyce Maynards which were not nearly as good as the first. I think I'm done unless she comes up with something new.

I have a giant pile for my week off. I think I'll start The Woman in Cabin 10 this afternoon after I finish cleaning.

[Sílvia]

Finished The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. Other than the title and some bookish quotes, it was meh. The plot was very weak and the characters were sooo underdeveloped. You know when there are like 10 different names and you can't keep them apart until you're halfway through the book? This was one of those. So annoying.

Then I started The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan and it sucked me right in. It's recommended for fans of Kate Morton, Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger and Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. I'm all of those I hope it lives up to the sample. I so love the gothic/historical fiction genre, why haven't I read more of it yet? I'm rarely disappointed when I do.

[Sílvia]

I'm super curious about The Wonder, Blush. But I've seen mixed reviews so far

[Sílvia]

Ugh, it sounds super boring! Plus the Irish English might be off-putting to me. I might wait for the translation.

[Sílvia]

Finished The Girl in the Photograph. Loved the writing, but the plot moved slowly and it wasn't terribly original or anything.

Next might be Simon vs. the Homo sapiens agenda. I think I'll get it in Portuguese. It's a little cheaper and sometimes I get English reading burn-out. I can't explain, it's not that I don't understand the words, I do (the vast majority of them, anyway.) But I get this urge to read in my own language. I suppose that's natural. So look out for my bitching about the translation in 2 days or so

[Sílvia]

You know what's brilliant? Simon vs... was US$5 when I started the sample, but by the time I finished it, it was down to less than $2!

[Sílvia]

Finished Simon vs... It was cute and highly readable, but not life-changing. I don't get the hype. Maybe I would if I were a teen or gay. Or both.

Then I started Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult: "Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?" I wouldn't read the rest of the blurb, because it's kind of spoilerific imo. This got my attention ever since I first heard of it a few months ago, and it was finally released last week. I started it today and was sucked right in. I hope Ms. P. won't piss me off at the end like she usually does.

[Rowan]

I read a few this weekend:

Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois. It was fine. Ending was meh.
The Couple Next Door was also fine but I thought the writing wasn't very good so that was weird.

I have the new Maria Semple which I started and it seemed like a slog. I love Where'd You Go Bernadette? so I was really looking forward to this one. I'll give it a bit more time...

[mellenhead]

I've been in a huge reading slump. Finally crawling out....

I'm just about done with Ghostland - An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey.

I have Replica by Lauren Oliver on the holdshelf that I'm excited to read. From B&N: Replica is a “flip book” that contains two narratives in one, and it is the first in a duology. Turn the book one way and read Lyra’s story; turn the book over and upside down and read Gemma’s story. The stories can be read separately, one after the other, or in alternating chapters.

[Bugsy]

Huge slump for me too. No way I'll reach my goal this year. Oh well! I did start "My Real Children" by Jo Walton, and that is quite good so far.

[Rowan]

I read the Maria Semple. It was fine. No Bernadette though.

I have the memoir from Jennifer Weiner which has good reviews so we'll see.

[Sílvia]

Finished Small Great Things. Probably my favorite book by her, and the ending didn't even piss me off! It was a bit Hollywoodian, but the truth is I love Hollywood. There was a twisty event towards the end, but nothing that made me want to throw it at a wall, like with some of her previous twists. And it was not totally unexpected, if you think about it. Anyway, recommended.

I'm also reading The Nearly Weds by Jane Costello, which I started while still reading Small Gr..., because I felt I needed something lighter after reading the chapters told by the white supremacist character in that.

[Rowan]

I liked the Jennifer Weiner memoir and found a lot of similarities of our childhoods.

She does have a section on her miscarriage which was extremely graphic and should have had a note prefacing it. I thought this was incredibly sensitive.I never had a m/c but my mom had 3 and my sister had 1 so it was always a really sensitive topic in our family.

Not sure what's next.

[Sílvia]

Is that Hungry Heart, Ro?

[Spudd]

I just finished "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's a kid's classic, but I'd never read it before, so I figured what the heck. It was good, in that Victorian kids' classic kind of a way.

Now I'm reading "You can retire sooner than you think" by Wes Moss.

[Bugsy]

Finished "My Real Children." I liked it a lot while I was reading but felt a little underwhelmed at the ending. Still worth reading but not my favorite.

Hm, and per my Goodreads list, maybe I never updated here that I finished "Shift." It was good for sure. I'll look for the final one in the series...I think it's only one more, anyway.

[Sílvia]

Finished The Nearly-Weds. It was typical chick lit: fun, readable, predictable, forgettable.

Then I started Left Neglected by Lisa Genova.

[Rowan]

A Little Princess was one of my favorites as a kid. I must have read it 10 times. I should pick it up again....

I'm almost done I'm Glad About You by Theresa Rebeck. Not sure how it landed on my pile, I think I just picked it up from the shelf as an unknown but I'm really liking it. I even stayed up later reading last night and that never happens.

[Sílvia]

Finished Left Neglected. It sucked. I can't believe it's by the same woman who wrote Still Alice. This was boring, overly sentimental, predictable, and had one of the most unlikable main characters I've ever come across. I suppose it takes a gifted writer to make you dislike a character who's just suffered a severe brain injury.

Not sure what's next. This text: http://bookriot.com/2016/10/28/reading- ... -of-trump/ makes me want to give The Handmaid's Tale another shot. I tried it about a year ago and couldn't get into it, but it sounds so good! Maybe now's the time.

[Sílvia]

No, The Handmaid's Tale's definitely not for me. I don't like the style.

I think I'm starting Jennifer Weiner's memoir, too. I'm at only 40% of the sample and love it already.