Book Thread: What are you reading?
 

We haven't had a book thread in a while & I'm always on the hunt for more recommendations, so share away!

I'm talking about all kinds of reading - recovery/non recovery, fiction, biography (love a good bio!!), motivational - whatever.....

I just finished "What I Know Now, Letters to my Younger Self" by Ellyn Spragins, which I actually posted about in a separate thread.

Also, "The Bookseller", by Cynthia Swanson. I loved it, a great light fiction that let me escape but still with enough intelligence that I stayed interested.



I'm in the middle of reading "Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown & it is FANTASTIC! There are SO many great points in this book that I can't begin to share - it really is a Must-Read & now I can't wait to tackle her other books.

I'm still working through "Is It You, Me or Adult ADD?" by Gina Pera - super helpful in understanding undiagnosed ADHD in adults & I've already recommended it to 3 others IRL that I think will benefit from it.

I made a note about Lexi's friend's book coming out soon - "The Art of Crash Landing," by Melissa DeCarlo.

I'm cheating by listening to books on audio while I walk sometimes & often in the car during my long daily commutes too. It's been a great way to get more reading time in!

Ooh yay!

I'm currently reading The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard, which I am enjoying despite the fact that his female characters aren't nearly as interesting as much as his male ones, but the book I really really REALLY want to recommend to everyone is DIETLAND, by Sarai Walker.

It's like a feminist Fight Club, and hits pretty hard. Not for the faint of heart. It's challenging, but asks SO many questions that should be being asked right now!!!

I am spending TONS of time in a car these days and will be using this thread to make some choices for listening materials...

Seriously, some of these routes I'm doing have 300-400 miles of driving per day! I could listen to freaking "War and Peace" in a few days...

My recommendation is actually for something I read a few years ago and recently found at a Goodwill, "Acts of Faith" by Philip Caputo. I need to find more of his stuff b/c I thought this book was phenomenal.

Thanks in advance to all of you who are going to make the next several weeks on the road so much more bearable!!

HP - I've also gotten a couple of George Carlin's books on audio - he's a personal fave so while I know others might consider him vulgar, I find myself LOL listening to him in gridlock traffic.... much better than road rage! Caputo sounds familiar.... I'll check into his stuff.

Interesting!
:tyou

11.22.63 by Stephen King - loving it. I've been doing books on tape during my 40 minute commute time every day. Finished the Wright Brothers by David McCoullagh - SO INSPIRING!!

I've just finished "finding me" by Michelle knight, she was kidnapped for 11 years. It's sad but very good if you like that sort of thing x

WHAT???!!?? Nobody else is reading these days!?

I don't believe that for a second, :bs2: ;) Our last thread went on for about 4 pages!

~bumping~:herewego

I just started "Girl on the Train". A co-worker said if I liked Gone Girl, I'd like that one. We'll see.

I just finished "Girl on the Train." I did not think it compares to Gone Girl, but it was pretty good. I am not sure what I am going to read next, so bring on the suggestions!

Ok, good to know! So... the same co-worker said I would also like "Luckiest Girl Alive" a novel by Jessica Knoll. I ordered it, too!

I added "The Te of Piglet" to my list again because I realized I never read it once it arrived - I had a bunch of books in that shipment & probably forgot or wasn't in the mood for that kind of reading.

I finished Daring Greatly this morning & even if I'm irritating you all, I'm going to plug it AGAIN. I think every single person can get something out of this book.... I knew that *I* would, but I completely underestimated how much. Seriously one of the BEST books I've read in a long time & I would say most of her principals fit in well with a person living a recovered life. I cannot say enough about it, but is speaks volumes that the 1st thing I did after finishing it was seek out her other books & new videos of hers I haven't seen before.

I'll also share these resources - thriftbooks.com - amazing prices for books & free shipping for most orders & they email me deals all the time. I love that they let you keep a wish list & if something is out of stock, they'll let you know as soon as it arrives.

Also for any e-readers out there, Bookbub.com is fantastic for cheap & even free books for your devices. I get a daily email with daily deals based on the categories I have checked off on my profile. Great resource for all kinds of stuff from recipe books to fiction.

I'm planning on starting "healing for damaged emotions" (don't recall author) and "the screwtape letters" by CS Lewis.

The last two books I read were Boys In The Boat and The Alienist. My next read is going to be The Monopolists.

The first is the story about the crew team at the University of Washington that eventually went to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The book is a study of what life was like for the rowers, especially the one around whom the book is centered, a rower named Joe Rantz. They became teenagers and attended college during the Great Depression, and just piecing together enough money to attend college - and eat - was a struggle for most of them.

At the same time, the book also contrasts what the Washington rowers went through with what was going on with the rise of Nazi Germany at the same time. It ends with a great description of the gold medal race, a larger message about what it took to bring down Nazi Germany and then a rundown of what happened to each rower for the rest of their lives.

The second book is historical fiction about a team of investigators' attempt to identify and capture a serial murderer in the late 1890's by employing techniques that were previously not known. It's an interesting read and story albeit a bit wordy. That said it goes fast.

My next read is about the true story of how the board game Monopoly came to be. It seems Hasboro employed some revisionist history when describing the sequence of events, but since I yet haven't started the book I can't comment on it in any depth.

The last two books I read were "Beaten, Seared and Sauced" by Jonathan Dixon and "Deadliest Sea" by Kalee Thompson. I'd definitely recommend the later - best (true) sea rescue story I've read. I have a new respect for our Coast Guard.

I read "Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle That Set Them Free" by Hector Tobar a few months ago and I really, really liked it.

Another book I read early this year that I loved was "The Martian" by Andy Weir. I normally turn away as soon as I see the library's science fiction sticker on the book binding but this one grabbed me. I tend to like survival stories I guess and this one was really well done. You might have seen the trailers in the theater - the film version is coming soon.

I've just started "The Terrible Privacy of Maxell Sim." Too early to tell.

Oh! My 8 year old son, XAH and I just finished reading "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (#4 in the series) and are now 4 chapters into "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein and we are all loving it!

Happy Reading!

DD is also reading GOF right now, she started the series last year but stopped so that she can use the points for AR testing at school this year. ({eyeroll} don't get me started on the AR program - she'd read 10x more if she didn't always have to weight the level & points into her choices.... over the summer I insist that she readreadreadreadreadread anything that DOESN'T qualify for AR - fun, fluff!)

I hear ya! We do A/R tests too. It can be frustrating trying to fit his reading interest into their A/R quota. He reads a lot but not all books have a quiz or they aren't on the right "level." Also some teachers count only independent reading. He, XAH and I still enjoy reading together 4-5 times a week. We all take turns and I would hate to give that up just to meet some statistical quota, you know?

I'm on a history kick lately. I've just started The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan, which is about the women working at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during WWII at what becomes known after the war as the Manhattan Project.

I'm finishing up The Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang and The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

There had been/is quite a debate about whether Dowager Empress Cixi was instrumental in the reforms that brought about a modern China or if she was a despot trying to oppose modernization. The biography about Cixi details her rule from being one of many concubines to being the empress dowager that ruled from behind the thrones of her son and then her nephew. During her reign, foot-binding was abolished, China built up new industries, railways, electricity, and she started working towards women's liberation.

The Bully Pulpit goes over the lives of Teddy Roosevelt and William Taft from their early upbringing through their campaign for the presidential nomination in 1912. It's an amazing look into their lives and approaches to reform and political careers.

I am in the same AR boat...grrrrr......

I'm reading A Game of Thrones (first book in the series). I was on a re-read of The Dark Tower (I got on a regular Stephen King kick for a while, there), but really enjoying this (along with the show, which I'm catching up with).

Hello,

I am re-reading Ragtime by EL Doctorow. It is just incredible how he scored the plot like music to me. I found my copy in my basement box of classics and popped it out as he just died recently.

I'm also committed on Absalom, Absalom. I've had the darn copy for years and Faulkner's prose is so freakin' dense it puts me to sleep after 2-4 pages. I am pushing through with the help of some online chapter summaries as I keep getting lost in his endless sentences! So I'll be in Yoknapatawpha County for awhile yet.

Last week I read Hemingway's To Have and Have Not. Not his best. It was a break from Faulkner prose for sure!

I read Luckiest Girl Alive on my vacation a couple of months ago...I thought all the "you will be SHOCKED by the twists in this book!" to be VERY misleading. Though I found the writing of the interior of the main character really interesting, it isn't what I would consider suspenseful or twisty.

Lately I have undergone a very sad and painful loss.
I picked up a book,"Rare Bird" by Anna Whiston-Donaldson which is a memoir.
What a gift. Hard to describe, but basically a prose type writing style about how the woman dealt with the loss of her son and her questions, inner and outer, to God and the world. Not a religious book, so to speak but a voice that speaks so honestly about loss.

I have also been reading classics. A favorite I finished recently was F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Beautiful and The Damned.".Wonderful read about the excesses of the 20's/30's. Also read "Villa Americana" by Liza Klaussman. About the couple, Gerald and Sara Murphy who were contempories of F.Scott and Zelda and who Tender is the Night was based on. Good read.

Love hearing what others are reading! I just finished The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand. I am currently on vacation at the lake and it was the perfect read. Very light easy read but a page turner. Really enjoyed it. Prior to this I read Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova. This is the same Author that wrote Still Alice. I have loved all of Lisa Genova's books but Inside the O'Briens was my least favorite. This book is about a family dealing with Huntington's Disease. Great info re Huntingtons Disease but I found myself bored and skipping pages. Loving all the book suggestions on this thread.

Oooo, some very interesting books listed here!! I'll be referring to this list when I go to the book store again. Which will probably be next week at the rate I'm gobbling up books at the moment.

I did find Codependent No More today, but that was the only Melody Beattie work they had. I'll keep looking. Just started this book at mid-afternoon and have maybe 80 pages left. I also picked up another book called When They Won't Quit. I will report back with my impressions of it.

My work allows me plenty of time to listen to audiobooks, thankfully. So far in the last week I have finished listening to Killing Patton by Bill O'Reilly and started on Killing Kennedy. I'm definitely determined to work through all of that series. But on days when I'm not quite in history buff mode lol, I started Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and have re-listened to HP Lovecraft and some Poe. I lub me some classic horror.

Ajax, you might enjoy Flapper, I think the author's last name is Zeitz? It's about the invention of the flapper phenomenon, and focuses extensively on the Fitzgeralds.

Thanks for the suggestion.
I re watched The Great Gatsby with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow and loved it more than I did when I first saw it. That got me hooked on the era.

I agree with you about Inside the O'Briens but being from the Boston area I loved the family. True Southie! Didn't you love her other books though? Left Neglected was fascinating to me.

I just finished 1776 and Undaunted Courage by David McCoullagh - Both were excellent but enjoyed Undaunted Courage more. Currently working my way though John Adams (same author) and it is even better than Undaunted Courage. I honestly had NO idea the impact John Adams had on the foundation of the US and all he accomplished in his life.

I guess I am self-teaching myself US history - lol. I know the "stories" taught in school but not the real history.

All of this is due to genealogy research I am doing. My ancestors are decedents of the Mayflower and of the Basse's (Bass) and Adams' of Braintree MA so I thought maybe I should learn more about them.

Finished:
The Girl on the Train: A Novel (Paula Hawkins) ***** 4.5 - excellent

The Tao of Pooh (Benjamin Hoff) *** 3.0 - cute, well written, practical advise.

Six Years (Harlan Coben) **** 4.0 If you liked Gone Girl, you will like this one.

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) ***** 4.5 I liked all of his books but this one was the best.

Measure of a Man: From Auschwitz Survivor to Presidents' Tailor; A Memoir (Martin Greenfield) **** 4.0 - biography, inspirational, interesting story

To do list:
Before I Go to Sleep: A Novel (S. J. Watson)
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania (Erik Larson)
Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow: My Life As a Country Vet ( David Fisher, Dr. Jan Pol ) - love the show.
Codependent No More (Melody Beattie) **re-listen** Need a refresher :)

**all of these are audible books** I too listen as I commute and run errands.

Great stuff you guys, thank you!!

For those of you listening on audio - what resources do you use? Do you buy the CD's?

I'm currently using hoopla on my smart phone & PC & I can borrow CD's from the library if it's available. I'm looking to get a couple of BB's books on CD for my mom for Christmas this year & I'm wondering it there's a great resource for that with good prices & selection?

Audible, try it free - 30 day audiobooks free trial from Audible | Audible.com
I have the basic membership ($10/year) which give 30% off list price. As much as I purchase I should probably look at another option but this one works for me. There is no minimum/maximum purchase requirement after the membership.

It is now an Amazon company so you use the same account info for audible.

They are also much better with the apps available for android devices. iOS was their strong suit for many years but I have been using my Samsung phone for the last 4-5 books with no issues.

edit..
another library app recommended to me but I have not tried it yet...
https://www.overdrive.com/libraries