It’s Thursday! Time to talk about what we’re reading. I’m reading all kinds of books, but I’m closest to finishing The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston. She’s the author of The War Bride’s Scrapbook. This one has “full-color vintage memorabilia” throughout the book. Frankie Pratt has just arrived in Paris in 1926. I’ll finish the book sometime over the weekend.
What are you reading or listening to this week? Thursday is my favorite day of the week on my blog. I love to “talk” about what we’re reading.
I'm reading 3 books!!
The rest of us just live here
Song of blood and stone
Gemina
Yay!
I still like the idea of that scrapbook book, but I am buried under library books.
Still reading the Kipling, which was published when he was 22 and is quite an impressive collection.
I finished the Block collection, ALIVE IN SHAPE AND COLOR, and I thought the overall quality was very high. There was only one very weak story (I won't name the author, but it was bad), and most were good or better. There is a nice group of writers, mostly a repeat of the ones from the Edward Hopper collection.
I'm closing in on finished John SCalzi's collection of pieces about writing, DON'T LIVE FOR YOUR OBITUARY, mainly things from his blog over the 2008-2017 period. a number of which I'd read before.
On the other hand, I was disappointed with his mystery (surely that's what it is) set in the "near future," HEAD ON, the sequel to LOCK IN.
I'm trying to decide which of the many books I have from the library to read first, and have tried a few to see which appealed most. I'm reading THE ORACLE YEAR by CHarles Soule. A man has a dream wherein he gets 108 predictions for the near future. They start to come true (specific dates and incidents, from accidents to winnings), and he creates a secretive site to release them – often for millions of dollars – while protecting his anonymity. I'm curious to see where he goes with it,
Jackie is reading THE THIEF, the latest Brotherhood book by J. R. Ward, as well as the newest Eve Dallas book by J D. Robb (Nora Roberts) on the Kindle at night.
Books by Nick Petrie, Abir Mukherjee, Anne Hillerman, Bryan Camp. and Karen Dionne (THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER) are waiting on my library shelf.
Meanwhile, it has gone from 51 with a cold rain on Monday to a record-tying 90 degrees yesterday!
I finished LORD OF THE PIES by Nell Hampton. I found it great fun until the very end when it got a little too over the top for my liking.
Now I am reading LOVE AND OTHER WORDS by Christina Lauren. Definitely chick lit but it is rather good. My favorite part is when the two main characters ask each other what their favorite word is when they see each other. Both characters are avid readers so there is some mention of books as well.
I finished BEATEN, SEARED, AND SAUCED by Jonathan Dixon. It’s about him deciding to go back to school at 38 and his time attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. The author wasn’t a very like able main character but the parts about the school were interesting.
HOW TO STOP TIME by Matt Haig which was an OK read
THE REAPER RESCUES THE GENIE by Kristen Painter. It’s the latest book in her funny paranormal romance series, Nocturne Falls.
I’m going to try TART OF DARKNESS by Denise Swanson next
Sandy, I started HOW TO STOP TIME too, but thought like you, that it was only "an OK read." I put it aside for later, if I have time.
Good morning, BiteIntoBooks! Thank you for joining the conversation. We're always eager to see what others are reading.
I wondered about Head On, Jeff. Odd premise. I'm glad you read it, so I didn't have to. 🙂 You have a wonderful looking collection from the library!
We had 80s yeserday, and we're expecting thunderstorms today.
Sharon, I like the sound of a book when the characters are avid readers. Nothing wrong with chick lit!
Interesting that you said How to Stop Time was just okay, Sandy. It was on my list of "I should read this." I won't be in a hurry.
I read Tart of Darkness. Can't wait to see your reaction.
Now, two of you, Jeff, with the same reaction – just ok. I'm now not in a hurry. And, tell Jackie I said hi!
Another fun day at Lesa’s blog. Always a pleasure to be here.
A time to add new books to the overwhelming list of books to read and new authors to discover.
A big thank you to everyone who shares with us your in put to making reading such a fulfilling part of our lives.
I finished the following:
The Cutline by A.C. Fuller
Texas Troubles ( book 1) by N C Lewis
I am reading:
Creek Crisis (book 2) by N C Lewis
I have 3 books by Bill Crider I hope to start right away.
May you have all the time you need to read your books.
📚📚📚📚☕️
I had a different impression of How to Stop Time–found it one of the most intriguing books I've read so far this year. But our differences are what makes life interesting!
Lesa, you reviewed Miranda James' Claws for Concern, and I saw it on the library shelf the same day so I picked it up (also because I enjoyed the last one in the series). I agree that it's the characters we treasure in these Cat in the Stacks books rather than the plot and the pacing, which is rather laconic. And who can resist a 40-pound Maine Coon cat who is an excellent judge of character and allows himself to be walked on a leash!
Whispers of the Dead is the second in Spencer Kope's series. "Steps" Craig is an FBI agent who uses his ability to see "shine" (synesthesia), or a unique color, to track each suspect. His fellow agent is one of only three people who are aware of this ability, and the two have to come up with more traditional reasons to explain their findings. They are on the trail of a serial killer who leaves just the severed feet of the victims for the agents to find. Steps and his partner are well defined and interesting characters. I found it clever, quirky, and quite suspenseful.
The Recipe Box is a lovely story about a young woman who grew up at the center of her family's apple growing and baking business but left home to take a professional pastry chef job in NYC. When she quit due to her monster boss's antics, she returned home to Michigan to think things out in the bosom of her family. There's a bit of romance here, but what sold it for me were the beautiful descriptions of the Michigan landscape and heartfelt interactions among generations of this close-knit family. This is Wade Rouse's third book inspired by the women in his family–he writes as Viola Shipman.
I just finished Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake and I LOVED IT. It's been a while since I've read a book that made me feel intense and excited at the same time. I want to read another book but at the same time I want to read the second book of the series. Decisions DECISIONS!
I'm in the midst of finishing The Address by Fiona Davis (yes, I'm a little behind on some of my reading). So far I've really enjoyed the story line as well as the history lessons on the development of NYC and, specifically the Dakota apartment building.
Charlotte, Always a pleasure to host all of you. It must feel like one of Janet Rudolph's literary salons – everyone around talking about books. I love it! The best part is the interaction between everyone as you drop in and out during the day. Thank you for participating. And, Bill Crider would be so pleased that you're reading his books.
Margie, I have a copy of How to Stop Time somewhere. I'm not going to part with it. I just won't be in a big hurry. I'll be interested to see if it makes your favorites list at the end of the year.
You're right. It's the characters in the Cat in the Stacks books. Love that Diesel!
Have you read Shipman's The Charm Bracelet? I haven't read it, but a friend of my mother's has reread it, and said she'll read it again. She loved it.
I feel the same way, Elle. Too many books, and too many that I want to read RIGHT NOW!
Jane, If just reading a book now makes you a little behind, every time we read a classic, we'd have to say that. It's just nice that you're enjoying The Address so much!
I just finished Fatal Fishes by Sandy Dengler, a favorite author of mine who is criminally underrated. I'm not working on The 17th Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, which I'm hoping to get finished up today.
You're right, Mark. I haven't even heard of Sandy Dengler. I'll have to check on her books.
I'm still working through the list of clerical mysteries I stumbled on and greatly enjoyed "A Truth for a Truth" by Emilie Richards. Unfortunately my library does not own the rest of the series and the individual volumes are a little pricey on the Kindle. I like the way the sleuth, a minister's wife, has a strong point of view and lots of important relationships.
Now I am on A Shameful Murder, featuring the head of a convent in Cork in 1923. The writing is lovely, and the characters are well-drawn.
Pretty busy this week, but I did read a couple of books.
The Wanted by Robert Crais. This is the newest in the Elvis cole series. It feels like Crais wasn't really invested in it. The usual shifting perspectives seem off. Too many characters seem exactly like characters in earlier books. Not enough John Chen, and especially, not enough Joe Pike. Maybe it's time for Crais to take another break from Elvis.
March Violets by Philip Kerr, about a PI in Nazi Germany. Pretty dreary.
Mistress of Death by Piers Anthony and Roberto Fuentes; sleazy martial arts thriller in the Jason Stryker series. Stryker sleeps with every woman he sees, is given nunchakas as a special weapon then doesn't use them, and has a Vietnam Flashbacks.
Kill Me In Yokosuka by Earl Norman; The Burns Bannion series is the first Martial Arts Thriller series in the west. Bannion goes to a geisha party, gets involved in a big conspiracy, karate chops a lot of people, and eventually a satisfactory poetic ending. Kind of like Shell Scott in Japan.
Trisha, I have A Shameful Murder at home. It's by Cora Harrison. I read the forthcoming one Death of a Novice, for Library Journal, & loved it, so I went back and checked out A Shameful Murder. As you said, well-drawn characters, and I liked the connection to Irish history.
Glen, I read a sleazy one recently that takes place in 1921 in Paris. I don't have a problem with characters sleeping with others, but EVERYONE? Oh, come on. Gets a little tiring. I actually used the word tedious.
I;m enjoying The War Bride's Scrapbook…Thanks for the recommendation. Slowly reading Guilty thing : a life of Thomas De Quincey by Frances Wilson and the latest Flavia de Luce.
You're welcome, Gram. Quite a contrast in your reading material this week.
Lesa, I raad The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt back in 2012 and loved it!
This week, I am finishing The Celebration by Wanda Brundstetter. It has too many characters but is a page turner and enjoyable. Also, I have started Don't you ever by Mary Carter Bishop. The subtitle tells the story, My Mother and Her Secret Son. It is a memoir but it concentrates more on the author's mother. The author felt loved by her mother and father but her half brother had a very different life and her mother felt so guilty about when she was living. The author uncovers what happened to her half brother through interviews,documents and picture. It is a fascinating book, and tells more history of the area of the unique place that they lived.
Lesa, I did read the other two in Viola Shipman's series (The Charm Bracelet and The Hope Chest), and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.
I'm reading a couple of things. One of them is How to Walk Away. I am really enjoying it but can't describe how it makes me feel. Just very, very compelling. I just picked up The War Bride's Scrapbook from the library so think I will be dipping into that between other things over the weekend.
I just received this book thanks to your recommendation, and I am totally smitten! Love it!