Reader’s Corner

[lisak09]

Finished this a couple of days ago. Another good one from this author. It's about a writer who's hired to ghostwrite a book by a husband who's suspected of murdering his wife and wants his side of the story told. I've read a few by this author and would definitely recommend them.

 

[lisak09]

Finished this a couple of days ago. Another really good Holly (from The Mercedes Killer Trilogy) story from Stephen King. This one wasn't a supernatural one. Some of them are. Really enjoyed it as I love Holly. Also Sttephen King has always been my favourite author and still is!

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

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Finished this a couple of days ago. Another really good Holly (from The Mercedes Killer Trilogy) story from Stephen King. This one wasn't a supernatural one. Some of them are. Really enjoyed it as I love Holly. Also Sttephen King has always been my favourite author and still is!

It's on my list but I have to read all the previous ones first.

 

[Songbird76]

I finished By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult. It was really good. It's about how voices of certain groups of people are absent or severely under-represented in entertainment, specifically theater, and have been for centuries. In Shakespeare's time, women could not write for the theater, or be on stage. Women's roles were played by men. But there's actually a theory that Shakespeare didn't write his own plays. For one, he was a full-time actor and businessman. When did he have time to write? Two, in a time when most playwrites collaborated, he worked alone and somehow had nothing but success. Three, when he died, there were no books, manuscripts, or writing implements to give to anyone. Most playwrites would have things they were working on when they died, that other people would then inherit or try to finish. He didn't. Four, he wrote in detail about things he couldn't have known about....like a painting in Italy, where he had never been, or about the canal system in Verona. And there were no guidebooks to describe them. Or how to play a recorder, when he wasn't a musician. He used names that were of meaning to certain people who were also writers, so it's suspected that there may have been a sort of club that wrote many of Shakespeare's works. One of the people who is thought to have possibly written at least SOME of his works is Emilia Bassano. Her family came from Italy as a family of musicians hired to perform for the monarch. She was the first woman in England to have a book of poetry published, so we know she was a writer, she had knowledge of music, of Italy, and used names very similar to those of her family members, etc.

Anyway, the book goes between HER story and modern times, and sheds light on the fact that though women buy the majority of the tickets for theater, there are only a small number of women who write, direct, or produce plays. I found it fascinating and I love the historical aspect of it, and I also read the Author's notes, which can sometimes be pretty boring, but she cited exactly where she found information she used for specific scenes, which was really interesting. This was definitely different than her courtroom stories, but I loved it.

By Any Other Name

From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Ho…

www.goodreads.com

 

[Songbird76]

I just read The Otherwhere Post by Emily J Taylor. It was so good!! It's a YA somewhat fantasy-ish book about a world where there are people who can add magic to writing. When someone reads an enchanted piece of writing, things happen...perhaps the enchantment locks in one of their memories so someone else can see it. Perhaps they enchant it to make someone feel a particular emotion. There are many things they can do with these enchantments, and years ago, a door was enchanted that enabled people to travel between parallel worlds. Until someone released a deadly vine into one of them and its prick put people into a deep sleep for which they had no known cure. (Kind of like sleeping beauty) The door had to be burned in order to prevent the vine from spreading. People who had been in a different world when the vine was brought were now stuck in the world they had been visiting because the door that let them go back and forth was destroyed. Only postal couriers who could write enchantments that created a temporary door for themselves could travel between worlds. Maeve has grown up hiding her identity because her father is said to have been the one to bring in the vine that killed so many people and destroyed that world. If anyone finds out who she is, it would be very dangerous for her. 7 years after the incident, the backlog of mail starts to get delivered and she receives a letter saying her father was innocent, but it doesn't tell her anything about how the person knows this or who really introduced the vine. She has to go undercover into Scriptomancy school to find the truth.

If you like YA and fantasy, I think it's a good one. I guess also maybe Sci-fi, as the scriptomancy is kind of a technology they have. It's pretty much a world like ours, except for the existance of this arcane magic. So I don't know how most would classify it....fantasy or sci-fi. But I really liked it.

The Otherwhere Post

The New York Times bestselling author of Hotel Magnifiq…

www.goodreads.com

 

[lisak09]

Just finished this, it's the first book in the romantic escapes series. They're set all over the world. I read the eight one "The Cosy Cottage in Ireland" already just because I'm irish
I've really enjoyed them both, they're fun and light hearted. I read a lot of thrillers and like to break them up with something lighter, these are perfect for that!
I'll definitely read more of the series, the second one is The Little Brooklyn Bakery so I'll get that one next.

 

[k8einwdw]

Some recent reads:






Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket series - I did not care for the first one, “A Summer Affair.” It was 500 pages of what felt like very little actual plot. This is one of her earlier books, so I’ll give her some grace. I did really enjoy the other three.



“A Girl Called Samson” was my first 5-star read in months - think Mulan meets the American Revolutionary War. I devoured this one!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm reading "These Summer Storms" right now. I'll probably finish up tonight. The books of Sarah MacLean's that I have read have been historical romances. This is a departure from that, it is contemporary and not a spicy romance. I'm liking it but I find the main character a little weak. Her historical romance heroines have been some strong women so it is a bit of a weird shift. Still worth a read though.

 

[Songbird76]

Some recent reads:

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Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket series - I did not care for the first one, “A Summer Affair.” It was 500 pages of what felt like very little actual plot. This is one of her earlier books, so I’ll give her some grace. I did really enjoy the other three.

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“A Girl Called Samson” was my first 5-star read in months - think Mulan meets the American Revolutionary War. I devoured this one!

That sounds really good! Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Have you read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon? They are HUGE books, but I really like them, and that was pretty much my introduction to historical fiction. A friend lent me one and I devoured it and then went on to read all the others that were out. It took me MONTHS to read them all, but I did read some other things in between. As much as I love them, I need something light now and then and I need to break it up a bit.

 

[Songbird76]

I'm reading "These Summer Storms" right now. I'll probably finish up tonight. The books of Sarah MacLean's that I have read have been historical romances. This is a departure from that, it is contemporary and not a spicy romance. I'm liking it but I find the main character a little weak. Her historical romance heroines have been some strong women so it is a bit of a weird shift. Still worth a read though.
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I went to a HUGE book market on Sunday....miles of bookseller stands with every possible type of book. They had antiques, classics, contemporary, romance, fantasy, reference books, cookbooks, even books about different kinds of cars, and sheet music. We were there for a couple of hours just walking along and only stopping when we found some English books and we still only saw probably half of what was there. But there was one stand that had a bunch of English books by Ali Hazelwood and Abby Jimenez, and I was thinking those are ones you recommended. It's too late now, but for future reference, do you have any favorites?

I did pick up a new Jodi Picoult and Pygmalion, which I have always wanted to read, but didn't have yet. Those two books together cost me 11 bucks. And E and I each got a little thingy to hold a book open while you read. And we got some pins. Hers says "Book Nerd" and I got one with a skeleton that says "One more chapter" and one that says "Cool People Read".

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I went to a HUGE book market on Sunday....miles of bookseller stands with every possible type of book. They had antiques, classics, contemporary, romance, fantasy, reference books, cookbooks, even books about different kinds of cars, and sheet music. We were there for a couple of hours just walking along and only stopping when we found some English books and we still only saw probably half of what was there. But there was one stand that had a bunch of English books by Ali Hazelwood and Abby Jimenez, and I was thinking those are ones you recommended. It's too late now, but for future reference, do you have any favorites?

I did pick up a new Jodi Picoult and Pygmalion, which I have always wanted to read, but didn't have yet. Those two books together cost me 11 bucks. And E and I each got a little thingy to hold a book open while you read. And we got some pins. Hers says "Book Nerd" and I got one with a skeleton that says "One more chapter" and one that says "Cool People Read".

I have enjoyed all of Ali hAzelwoods books, except there is one with vampires. I have not read that one otherwise they are all good. Same with Abby Jimenez, all that I have read have been great.

 

[k8einwdw]

That sounds really good! Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Have you read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon? They are HUGE books, but I really like them, and that was pretty much my introduction to historical fiction. A friend lent me one and I devoured it and then went on to read all the others that were out. It took me MONTHS to read them all, but I did read some other things in between. As much as I love them, I need something light now and then and I need to break it up a bit.

I haven’t read that series, I’ll have to add it to my TBR!

 

[Songbird76]

I haven’t read that series, I’ll have to add it to my TBR!

I recommend them, but it's a huge time investment. I think they are all over 1000 pages, or really small print. They are massive. I've actually read them twice now because I reread them in preperation for the latest book that came out. There are 9 out now with one more coming out. There are also some side stories/books. One of the characters has a few side novels about his.....adventures for lack of a better word, I guess. And there are some compilations of stories about other side characters. I think I have all of them now, but I haven't read all those side stories. On Diana Gabaldon's website, she has a chronology of when to read each side story and in which compilation or book it can be found. I'm not sure when book 10 comes out because it usually takes her a few years to research and write each one. But I'm planning on doing a BIG re-read of ALL the books, side stories, novellas, etc ahead of that coming out. SO much happens that I forget some things and like a refresher. There are a few scenes I have to skip, though because there are some graphic things. Just fair warning.

 

[Songbird76]

I just finished The LibraryThief by Kachenga Shenjé. It was an interesting concept and I liked the premise, but I didn't like the main character. I felt like she went to far at times and kind of had a disregard for other people, but I understand because of history why she is depicted this way. The main character is kicked out of her home when her father walks in on her in a compromising position with a man. It's set in the late 1800s, so she really had no where to go. But she intercepts a letter meant for her father, offering a job binding books in a wealthy man's private library, so she pretends that her father sent her to do the job. In the course of her stay, some mysterious things happen and she finds herself trying to find the truth about the death of the wealthy man's wife.

I can't really give any more information than that without spoilers, but I am a rule-follower by nature and I get very uncomfortable reading about people sneaking around or breaking laws, doing unethical things, because I am always worried about what will happen if they get caught. And the main character in this one is ALWAYS sleuthing and in my opinion, going too far. It wasn't until the last third that I really was ready to be done with it, though.

I did like that it eventually did explain everything, but I didn't really like how everything was resolved. Not really my thing, but I can see the importance of the book and the depiction of history.

The Library Thief

A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a whi…

www.goodreads.com