Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 1827

poohbear_nc · 08-05-2018, 08:08 PM

I've been reading some Graham Greene lately -- not sure why -- The End of the Affair and Orient Express (aka Stamboul Train) -- his books seem to be about unpleasant people doing unpleasant things to each other unpleasantly -- not really enjoyable, but compelling reads ... if only to find out how badly the characters will behave.

To lighten things up, I turned to Arthur Machen's The Terror -- good melodramatic supernatural fun.

And I'm still trying to plow through Henry James' The Awkward Age -- which I'm finding very hard to stay with -- the endless frivilous 'smart' dialogue is very tedious to my ear.

CRussel · 08-06-2018, 12:00 AM

Never been able to stomach Henry James myself. Life's too short to spend it reading stuff I don't enjoy.

Speaking of which, I'm currently still reading the latest Maise Dobbs, as an audio book. Quite enjoying it, of course. On the eBook side, I'm returning to A Red Herring Without Mustard, the third of the Flavia deLuce mysteries from Alan Bradley. I got sidetracked about half way into it, but now I want to finish it.

astrangerhere · 08-06-2018, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I've been reading some Graham Greene lately -- not sure why -- The End of the Affair and Orient Express (aka Stamboul Train) -- his books seem to be about unpleasant people doing unpleasant things to each other unpleasantly -- not really enjoyable, but compelling reads ... if only to find out how badly the characters will behave.

To lighten things up, I turned to Arthur Machen's The Terror -- good melodramatic supernatural fun.

And I'm still trying to plow through Henry James' The Awkward Age -- which I'm finding very hard to stay with -- the endless frivilous 'smart' dialogue is very tedious to my ear.

I've done a few Graham Greene's this year as well - Our Man in Havana and also The End of the Affair.

Right now I am in the midst of the book club read - The Great Halifax Explosion. I am also listening to Kate Atkinson's Life after Life.

PurpleStar · 08-06-2018, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I need something fun now, so I'm gonna go with Monster Hunter Legion by Larry Correia. It should hopefully get me out of my reading slump I'm on lately.

Oh yeah, this will work for sure.

Rumpelteazer · 08-06-2018, 03:46 PM

I just finished The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, which I really enjoyed. I was glad I recently read Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chan, because it gave me a good understanding about the times the mothers from The Joy Luck Club lived in China and their motivation to leave and move to the US. And it also gave me a good understanding about their (probable) upbringing, which explains why they behave the way they do and are so different from their daughters.

poohbear_nc · 08-06-2018, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Right now I am in the midst of the book club read - The Great Halifax Explosion. I am also listening to Kate Atkinson's Life after Life.

Life After Life is one of the finest books I have ever read -- magical, unique, one-of-a-kind. Enjoy!

Fbone · 08-07-2018, 05:22 PM

Finished The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.

This starts out as the usual YA fantasy; group of people journeying for some (ig)noble cause. But the clues throughout lead one to think there is a twist at the end. And there is. While the story line may seem simple the beauty is in the writing. It's clear the author has a good command of language. Concise with no wasted words. Descriptive but not overdone. I look forward to the next one. Rated B [4 stars].

Next will be Lightning by Den Koontz. Library book.

CRussel · 08-07-2018, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

Finished The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.

This starts out as the usual YA fantasy; group of people journeying for some (ig)noble cause. But the clues throughout lead one to think there is a twist at the end. And there is. While the story line may seem simple the beauty is in the writing. It's clear the author has a good command of language. Concise with no wasted words. Descriptive but not overdone. I look forward to the next one. Rated B [4 stars].

Next will be Lightning by Den Koontz. Library book.

Yes, I have quite enjoyed this series. I'm through the 4th so far, with two more to go.

orlok · 08-07-2018, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I am also listening to Kate Atkinson's Life after Life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Life After Life is one of the finest books I have ever read -- magical, unique, one-of-a-kind. Enjoy!

Ditto. A solid 5 star read for me.

I've just started How To Stop Time by Matt Haig. It's about a few "fortunate" individuals who age at about a 15th of the normal aging process, living for hundreds of years. A kind of time travel story with a new slant.

astrangerhere · 08-08-2018, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Life After Life is one of the finest books I have ever read -- magical, unique, one-of-a-kind. Enjoy!

I am really, really enjoying it. I felt like, in particular, the brutal domestic violence was handled very deftly.

CRussel · 08-08-2018, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Speaking of which, I'm currently still reading the latest Maise Dobbs, as an audio book. Quite enjoying it, of course.

Finished To Die But Once, the 14th and most recent Maisie Dobbs book from Jacqueline Winspear. A solid 4 stars, and a worthy book in the series. This book takes us to the start of WWII and the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk, which plays a major role for several of the subsidiary characters.

Next up on the Audible side is Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner, the 5th book in the Queen's Thief series.

John K · 08-09-2018, 07:53 AM

Life After Life

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I am really, really enjoying it. I felt like, in particular, the brutal domestic violence was handled very deftly.

I abandoned the book in disgust at that point. Maybe I should give it another try.

astrangerhere · 08-09-2018, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John K

Life After Life

I abandoned the book in disgust at that point. Maybe I should give it another try.

It was worth it, IMO. I really liked the way the book and the characters evolved. I wouldn't call the ending "satisfying" but it did feel very fitting.

As to the domestic violence, I do legal work with DV victims on occasion, and as ugly and brutal as it was - it was very realistic.

Dngrsone · 08-09-2018, 01:50 PM

Finished Cherry Bomb by J. A. Konrath. This is the sixth "Jack" Daniels book, and a great stopping point for the series. With that said, I do have the next two in line, so I may just as well pick them up in the near future.

Meanwhile, I have read the month's New Leaf book already, and I have a new Richard Roberts, so I am gong to reread the "Don't Tell My Parents..." series from the start just for fun.

haertig · 08-09-2018, 04:06 PM

Finished eBook "Temple" by Matthew Reilly. Fun Indiana Jones type of adventure story, over the top at times, significant publication errors due to poor/nonexistent proofreading (these errors worsen near the 2/3 to 3/4 point in the eBook).

Just started eBook "Bloodline" by James Rollins. Book #8 of Rollins' "Sigma Force" series. Action/Adventure novel of good guys (ex-military folks formed into a secret gov't team) vs. bad guys in international settings. Don't know much about the plot yet as I just started, but I've never ever been disappointed in a James Rollins book (and I've read many). IMHO, he is the grand master of this genre. I hope this one will live up to the high standards set by his previous novels.

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08-05-2018, 08:08 PM	#27391
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 63,502 Karma: 135239851 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	I've been reading some Graham Greene lately -- not sure why -- *The End of the Affair* and *Orient Express* (aka *Stamboul Train) -- his books seem to be about unpleasant people doing unpleasant things to each other unpleasantly -- not really enjoyable, but compelling reads ... if only to find out how badly the characters will behave. To lighten things up, I turned to Arthur Machen's The Terror* -- good melodramatic supernatural fun. And I'm still trying to plow through Henry James' *The Awkward Age* -- which I'm finding very hard to stay with -- the endless frivilous 'smart' dialogue is very tedious to my ear.

08-06-2018, 12:00 AM	#27392
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,296 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), iPad Air M3	Never been able to stomach Henry James myself. Life's too short to spend it reading stuff I don't enjoy. Speaking of which, I'm currently still reading the latest Maise Dobbs, as an audio book. Quite enjoying it, of course. On the eBook side, I'm returning to A Red Herring Without Mustard, the third of the Flavia deLuce mysteries from Alan Bradley. I got sidetracked about half way into it, but now I want to finish it.

08-06-2018, 03:46 PM	#27395
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,334 Karma: 27919658 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	I just finished The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, which I really enjoyed. I was glad I recently read Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chan, because it gave me a good understanding about the times the mothers from The Joy Luck Club lived in China and their motivation to leave and move to the US. And it also gave me a good understanding about their (probable) upbringing, which explains why they behave the way they do and are so different from their daughters.

08-07-2018, 05:22 PM	#27397
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,296 Karma: 101697116 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Finished The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. This starts out as the usual YA fantasy; group of people journeying for some (ig)noble cause. But the clues throughout lead one to think there is a twist at the end. And there is. While the story line may seem simple the beauty is in the writing. It's clear the author has a good command of language. Concise with no wasted words. Descriptive but not overdone. I look forward to the next one. Rated B [4 stars]. Next will be Lightning by Den Koontz. Library book.

08-09-2018, 01:50 PM	#27404
Dngrsone Almost legible Posts: 1,457 Karma: 4611110 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: In a high desert, CA Device: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab A (2017), Likebook P78	Finished Cherry Bomb by J. A. Konrath. This is the sixth "Jack" Daniels book, and a great stopping point for the series. With that said, I do have the next two in line, so I may just as well pick them up in the near future. Meanwhile, I have read the month's New Leaf book already, and I have a new Richard Roberts, so I am gong to reread the "Don't Tell My Parents..." series from the start just for fun.

08-09-2018, 04:06 PM	#27405
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,897 Karma: 31522252 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	Finished eBook "Temple" by Matthew Reilly. Fun Indiana Jones type of adventure story, over the top at times, significant publication errors due to poor/nonexistent proofreading (these errors worsen near the 2/3 to 3/4 point in the eBook). Just started eBook "Bloodline" by James Rollins. Book #8 of Rollins' "Sigma Force" series. Action/Adventure novel of good guys (ex-military folks formed into a secret gov't team) vs. bad guys in international settings. Don't know much about the plot yet as I just started, but I've never ever been disappointed in a James Rollins book (and I've read many). IMHO, he is the grand master of this genre. I hope this one will live up to the high standards set by his previous novels.