Once again, a month has slipped by without any sort of update. Nothing's wrong and life continues as usual, we've just been rather busy and this year's mild winter meant we spent fewer days cooped up inside the house looking for things to do.
Anyway, one thing I have been continuing to do is read. Rather than pester my Facebook friends for reading recommendations, I joined Goodreads and have a sizable To Read list. So when my pile dwindles, I go to that list first, then head to the library. I learned that there is an amazing amount of books dissecting Harry Potter, but that none of them are available at the library.
Anyway, here's what I've plowed through since last month.
**Lethal by Sandra Brown--I've read most of Brown's books but I think I'm getting tired of her formula because this one did not draw me in. In fact, a third of the way through I was bored, so I flipped to the end to see what happened and returned it mostly unread.
**Iron Coffins by Herbert Werner--Having toured the submarine moored in the Inner Harbor, I've long been fascinated by the idea of being a submariner. Not that I'd want to do it, but I love reading accounts of those who have. This book was written by a former U-boat commander in WWII. Incredibly interesting.
**Big Girls Don't Cry by Rebecca Traister--This book was about the 2008 presidential election and looks at the women involved, starting with Hillary Clinton and going all the way down to Tina Fey. It's well written and I enjoyed it, and since this is an election year too, it encouraged me to really think about what my key issues are and what imperfections I can live with in a candidate.
**Girl In Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland--This is the story of a fictional painting by Vermeer and rather than tracing the history of the subject of the painting, like Girl With A Pearl Earring does, it traces the history of the painting itself as it travels from owner to owner. I loved it, although I had a hard time with the Dutch names.
**A Risk Worth Taking by Robin Pilcher--Robin Pilcher is the son of my favorite author ever, Rosamunde Pilcher, so when I discovered that he is also a writer, I picked up his first book with trepidation, wondering if his work would be up to par. I was pleasantly surprised with the first book, so I have recently read a couple more. This one, I read in one day while I sat in jury duty. A fast read, pleasant, with great depictions of Scotland.
**Starting Over by Robin Pilcher--Another Pilcher book, this one was good too but I was disappointed by the ending.
**Devil's Gate by Clive Cussler--I got into Cussler's books a couple of years ago and they are always good for people who like adventure stories with lots of action where the good guys have the coolest technology and are good looking to boot.
**The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain--I really wanted to love this book, but in the end I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads because 2 wasn't quite enough and I haven't figured out how to do half stars. I wrote a detailed review over there, but briefly, I loved the way midwifery and homebirth was portrayed. But by the end I hated the main characters guts and the story seemed completely implausible.
**Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells--I saw the movie years ago and a friend said the book was better so I finally picked it up. However, I liked the movie better.
**Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult--I haven't loved all of Picoult's books but this one was fantastic. She does write with a formula (each chapter is from a different character's POV, each book features an ethical dilemma and a court case) but this one drew me in more than usual. I especially loved the chapters about wolves. I didn't know, for example, that wolves eat a specific part of a kill depending on their role in the pack, or that the while the alpha wolf is in charge it's actually the beta wolf that provides the muscle. This story is based on the real life adventures of Shaun Ellis and I plan to read his book next.
**Freaks by Tess Gerritsen--This is actually a short story and I was bummed that it's a freebie for the Kindle, since I don't have one. But then I discovered that you can get a free PC Kindle app, so I got that and read this story. I liked it and wanted it to go on further.
Have you read anything good recently?
Anyway, one thing I have been continuing to do is read. Rather than pester my Facebook friends for reading recommendations, I joined Goodreads and have a sizable To Read list. So when my pile dwindles, I go to that list first, then head to the library. I learned that there is an amazing amount of books dissecting Harry Potter, but that none of them are available at the library.
Anyway, here's what I've plowed through since last month.
**Lethal by Sandra Brown--I've read most of Brown's books but I think I'm getting tired of her formula because this one did not draw me in. In fact, a third of the way through I was bored, so I flipped to the end to see what happened and returned it mostly unread.
**Iron Coffins by Herbert Werner--Having toured the submarine moored in the Inner Harbor, I've long been fascinated by the idea of being a submariner. Not that I'd want to do it, but I love reading accounts of those who have. This book was written by a former U-boat commander in WWII. Incredibly interesting.
**Big Girls Don't Cry by Rebecca Traister--This book was about the 2008 presidential election and looks at the women involved, starting with Hillary Clinton and going all the way down to Tina Fey. It's well written and I enjoyed it, and since this is an election year too, it encouraged me to really think about what my key issues are and what imperfections I can live with in a candidate.
**Girl In Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland--This is the story of a fictional painting by Vermeer and rather than tracing the history of the subject of the painting, like Girl With A Pearl Earring does, it traces the history of the painting itself as it travels from owner to owner. I loved it, although I had a hard time with the Dutch names.
**A Risk Worth Taking by Robin Pilcher--Robin Pilcher is the son of my favorite author ever, Rosamunde Pilcher, so when I discovered that he is also a writer, I picked up his first book with trepidation, wondering if his work would be up to par. I was pleasantly surprised with the first book, so I have recently read a couple more. This one, I read in one day while I sat in jury duty. A fast read, pleasant, with great depictions of Scotland.
**Starting Over by Robin Pilcher--Another Pilcher book, this one was good too but I was disappointed by the ending.
**Devil's Gate by Clive Cussler--I got into Cussler's books a couple of years ago and they are always good for people who like adventure stories with lots of action where the good guys have the coolest technology and are good looking to boot.
**The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain--I really wanted to love this book, but in the end I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads because 2 wasn't quite enough and I haven't figured out how to do half stars. I wrote a detailed review over there, but briefly, I loved the way midwifery and homebirth was portrayed. But by the end I hated the main characters guts and the story seemed completely implausible.
**Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells--I saw the movie years ago and a friend said the book was better so I finally picked it up. However, I liked the movie better.
**Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult--I haven't loved all of Picoult's books but this one was fantastic. She does write with a formula (each chapter is from a different character's POV, each book features an ethical dilemma and a court case) but this one drew me in more than usual. I especially loved the chapters about wolves. I didn't know, for example, that wolves eat a specific part of a kill depending on their role in the pack, or that the while the alpha wolf is in charge it's actually the beta wolf that provides the muscle. This story is based on the real life adventures of Shaun Ellis and I plan to read his book next.
**Freaks by Tess Gerritsen--This is actually a short story and I was bummed that it's a freebie for the Kindle, since I don't have one. But then I discovered that you can get a free PC Kindle app, so I got that and read this story. I liked it and wanted it to go on further.
Have you read anything good recently?
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1 comment:
The Robin Pilcher books are not bad, but he isn't as good as his mother. He may grow into it - she did.
Thanks for the headsup on the Traister book. I love political analysis of all kinds.
Great you're doing this.
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