What are you reading?

[TripleGemini]

ArielFlies, my son and I are reading the Mitch Rabb series now. (Actually, we've already read most of them, but then he came out with American Assassin and Kill Shot, which are the first two books in the storyline, so we've read them and now are going through the rest of the series.)

And while we look for the next Mitch Rab book, I'm reading The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer. He was at Brookline Booksmith this week, and I went to hear/meet him. If you ever get a chance, go...he's a warm and inviting speaker and a lot of fun to listen to.

Next week, Hank Phillippi Ryan will be speaking at the Lynn Library, so I'm going to go hear/meet her, too. And pick up her latest book ;-)

BTW, my son is now invested in helping me get all my books organized. Thank heaven, I will have help :-)

[JavaJo]

I finished Pines and I did not expect that ending. I honestly didn't know what I expected, but it sure wasn't that! I enjoyed it.

Now I'm reading Night Watcher by Wendi Corsi-Staub.

[cablejockey]

I am in the middle of S is For Silence by Sue Grafton. It is a good read. S Is for Silence - Sue Grafton - Google Books
I have heard of these books for years and never got around to reading them. Its funny how they are all set in the mid to late 1980s.

[Critical]

Wow, I haven't read one of those Sue Grafton's in years! They're lots of fun. I think I got to about the middle of the alphabet before I gave up. After so many of them, they all blended together. I read one twice and didn't realize I'd already read it until maybe 2/3rds of the way through....and then I didn't remember how it ended, so I finished it!

I finished Jansma's The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards last night. Not sure how I feel about it, but I think I'll be reading it again in the future. It's one of those books you need to read a second time to process everything that happened. It was very well-written, but you never know what's true and what the narrator is just making up. You never quite know what HIS story is until maybe the very end. I think reading it a second time will make things clearer.

Now I'm reading Menna van Praag's The House at the End of Hope Street. It's sort of a chick-lit-ish story with magical aspects. The jury's still out. I'll report back....

[AJane]

I'm finishing up a book that is kinda neat - Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It's an autobiographical account of her solo hike down the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), about 15 years ago. I normally don't care much for true adventure (although the pure physical challenge of such a journey is really tempting to me), but this book has a little bit more. Strayed is not an experienced hiker and set off on this sort of spiritual journey after her divorce and the death of her mother. She's painfully honest in discussing her personal problems (abusive father, adultery, dabblings in heroin use, sexual promiscuity, complicated relationships with her ex-husband and stepfather, and her fierce devotion to her late mother) in between her adventures on the PCT.

Highly recommend this book. Don't be dissuaded by the Oprah Book Club 2.0 sticker on it.

[Critical]

AJane - I've had Wild for well over a year and just have never gotten around to it. I was close to picking it up and then Oprah chose it and that turned me off. Your review may have changed my mind.

I've been trying to get Roberto Calasso's Tiepolo Pink for my book club. It's about the painter Tiepolo and a series of his etchings. It sounded like a good one, but it is DENSE. This author never used a word with two syllables if he could use one with five. I think I have a pretty good vocabulary, but I've been hitting dictionary.com A LOT. I put myself on a 20 page per day schedule in order to finish it on time and I've fallen behind. I'm supposed to be at page 120 by the end of today and I'm only on 67.

I'm also reading Moshin Hamad's How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. Wholly original. I can't even come up with a good description. Call it the story of a young man rising from poverty to wealth in "rising Asia" disguised as a self-help book.

[Cootie]

I just finished "Dirty Little Secrets" by C.J. Omololu. I got it as an ebook on iTunes for $1.99. Have any of you read it? It is about a girl in high school who lives with her hoarder mom. On the outside, her mom is a successful nurse, but in the house, life is horrific for Lucy, who has been hiding her mom's issues for her lifetime. A brother who is out of the house supports her, a sister, also out of the house is more troubling. At the beginning of the book the mom dies in the house and only Lucy knows. How she deals with it is tricky.

I was not happy with the ending until I found out that the author published an extra chapter. Reading it made a big difference. If you have ever watched Hoarders, you may like this book. Omololu wrote it prior to those shows being shown, which makes it even more interesting.

[Cootie]

I am in the middle of S is For Silence by Sue Grafton. It is a good read. S Is for Silence - Sue Grafton - Google Books
I have heard of these books for years and never got around to reading them. Its funny how they are all set in the mid to late 1980s.

I used to live in Santa Barbara, which is the inspiration for Santa Theresa. I lived there in the 70's so this series is one that I can closely relate to. I like that she stayed in the very early personal computer era. Detective mysteries after the Internet are a whole different genre! I like the sense of humor and family that she has with her neighbor, her past relationships, etc. And I love the setting because I know it. Some of the books are weaker than others, but most are good so I hope you stick with it. There are plenty of volumes at used book stores and libraries everywhere.

[Fanny Mare]

I just finished "Dirty Little Secrets" by C.J. Omololu. I got it as an ebook on iTunes for $1.99. Have any of you read it? It is about a girl in high school who lives with her hoarder mom. On the outside, her mom is a successful nurse, but in the house, life is horrific for Lucy, who has been hiding her mom's issues for her lifetime. A brother who is out of the house supports her, a sister, also out of the house is more troubling. At the beginning of the book the mom dies in the house and only Lucy knows. How she deals with it is tricky.

I was not happy with the ending until I found out that the author published an extra chapter. Reading it made a big difference. If you have ever watched Hoarders, you may like this book. Omololu wrote it prior to those shows being shown, which makes it even more interesting.

I like the sound of this book, thank you Cootie .My aunt and uncle( brother and sister) were both hoarders, we didn't know then what it was.I just know I could never find a place to sit down when we visited.

[waywyrd]

Finished Wilderness by Lance Weller tonight...wow. So, so good. Set around the Civil War to 1899, the story follows the travails of the fictional Abel Truman and a handful of people he encounters along the way. I had tears streaming down my cheeks by the last few pages. Highly recommend this one to anyone interested in that time period.