Off-Topic Summer Reading 2015

[sherry7899]

I finished Roisin Meaney's book "Something in Common" which I loved. I am reading "150 Pounds" and "A Week in May."

Sherry

[Pam61]

Originally Posted by laurajhawk

I agree with everyone about Outlander - great books, the violence is in keeping with the times, is part of the plotlines (i.e. not gratuitous), and is a small part of the series.



Oh, heck no. Not even close! Not the same ballpark, not the same continent.

I should have said that what was being compared between the two shows was what was being filmed and shown on TV (violence, nudity.) Outlander and Game of Thrones are in no way the same. I believe Outlander has been very tastefully done considering the subject matter. I was in a hurry to post, and should have been more clear.

[difit]

Here are a few new release's for August. Happy reading!

4th
Crooked Little Lies - Barbara Taylor Sissel
Hopscotch Homicide (Zoe Donovan Mysteries, book 16) - Kathi Daley
Brightest and Best -(Amish Turns of Time, book 3) -Olivia Newport
Made with Love (Pinecraft Pie Shop, book 1) - Sherry Gore and Tricia Goyer (kindle)
The Gift (Prairie State Friends, book 2) - Wanda E Brunstetter
Stepdog - Nicole Galland
The Summertime Girls - Laura Hankin
All A Heart Needs (Callaways, book 5) - Barbara Freethy
The Marriage of Opposites - Alice Hoffman
Malice at the Palace (Royal Spyness, book 9) - Rhys Bowen
Lord of the Wings (Meg Langslow, book 19) - Donna Andrews
Sleight of Hand (Hart and Drake, book 2) - C J Lyons
Blood Stained (Lucy Guardino, book 2) - C J Lyons
The Nightmare Charade (Arkwell Academy, book 3) - Mindee Arnett
A Dish Best Served Cold (Italian Kitchen Mystery, book 3) - Rosie Genova
A Little Night Murder (Blackbird Sisters Mysteries, book 10) - Nancy Martin
Loom and Doom (Weaving Mystery, book 4) - Carol Ann Martin
Laying Down the Paw (Paw Enforcement, book 3) - Diane Kelly
Unleashed (Kate Turner, DVM Mysteries, book 2) - Eileen Brady
What You Left Behind - Jessica Verdi
Best Laid Plans (Lucy Kincaid, book 9) - Allison Brennan
Dream a Little Scream (Dream Club Mystery, book 2) - Mary Kennedy
A Gilded Grave (Newport Gilded Age) - Shelley Freydont
Murder in the Paperback Parlor (Book Retreat Mystery, book 2) - Ellery Adams
Revenge of the Chili Queens (Chili Cook-Off, book 3) -Kylie Logan
Better Homes and Corpses (Hamptons Home & Garden Mystery, book 1) - Kathleen Bridge
Crushed Velvet (Material Witness Mystery, book 2) - Diane Vallere
Fudging the Books (Cookbook Nook Mystery, book 4) - Daryl Wood Gerber
If Onions Could Spring Leeks (Country Cooking School Mystery, book 5) - Paige Shelton
Berried Secrets (Cranberry Cove Mystery) - Peg Cochran
Blood of Heroes (Fable series, book 1) - Jim C Hines


11th
Silver Linings (Rose Harbor, book 4) - Debbie Macomber
Fool's Quest (Fitz and the Fool Trilogy, book 2) - Robin Hobb
A Game for All the Family - Sophie Hannah
Seaside Nights (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, book 5) - Melissa Foster

18th
Friction - Sandra Brown

25th
Candy Corn Murder (Lucy Stone, book 22) - Leslie Meier
Lair of Dreams (Diviners, book 2) - Libba Bray
Even Vampires Get the Blues (Deadly Angels, book 6) - Sandra Hill
Starlight on Willow Lake (Lakeshore Chronicles, book 11) - Susan Wiggs
Keeper's Reach (Sharpe & Donovan, book 5) - Carla Neggers
X (Kinsey Millhone, book 24) - Sue Grafton
Wildest Dreams (Thunder Point, book 9) - Robyn Carr
The Nature of the Beast (Chief Inspector Gamache, book 11) - Louise Penny
Ransom Canyon (Ransom Canyon, book 1) - Jodi Thomas
Summer On The River - Marcia Willett
Threads of Evidence (Mainely Needlepoint Mystery, book 2) - Lea Wait
Gone But Knot Forgotten (Quilting Mysteries, book 3) - Mary Marks
Cold Hearts (Secrets and Lies, book 2) - Sharon Sala
Ever After (Love to the Rescue, book 3) - Rachel Lacey
Still You – Claire Allan

[Judy W.]

I just finished 'This Charming Man' by Marian Keyes. 'Man' is a Kennedy-ish Irish politician with a very dark side, and the book details his effect on several women whose lives he touched in most unpleasant ways. The subject matter is serious, but the women (particularly one by the name of Lola) are delightful.

Take warning: the book describes incidents of physical abuse, so those who find it unsettling to read about should avoid this book!

Notwithstanding the above disclaimer, I really enjoyed the book. The characters were well-drawn and believable. The plotting was excellent and not predictable as some "chick lit" tends to be. I'll have to look into some of her other books!

[sherry7899]

Judy- one of my favorite Marian Keyes books is "Last Chance Saloon." I still have one or two of hers I have not read yet.
I will update after I read them.

I had "The Woman Who Stole My Life" by Marian Keyes. I can't remember if I donated it to my library of if I still have it. I'd be glad to pass it along
to you if I still have it. I will check. I have these two on my TBR pile:

"The Mystery of Mercy Close"
"The Brightest Star in the Sky"

I started reading her a long time ago, soon after "Watermelon" came out. I remember noticing that one on my library shelves because the bright cover stuck out at the end of a row of books I've been reading her ever since. Some books are better than others.

You may like Lisa Jewell's more recent books. She is a British writer who's books are deeper than chick lit.

I am reading "The Coincidence of Coconut Cake" which I like very much so far.

Sherry

ETA: I am missing one of the Marian Keyes books I thought I still had, and I did donate "The Woman who Stole My Life." I am sorry about that. I did a huge book purge a few months ago. I donated eleven boxes of books. I was running out of shelf space and I was really ruthless!

[BunnyHop]

Gave up on Stephen King. Not surprised, he can get a bit gruesome, and that's not been much interest to me lately.

Picked up the copy of Anna Lee Huber's A Grave Matter again. Think I'll get through it this time. Not at all a badly written story, it just hasn't grabbed my attention til now. On the plus side, she's already got another book out that I can buy right away as a follow up.

[LynnO]

Finished some grown up books!

Leaving Before the Rains Come- Alexandra Fuller. Conflicted on this- it is interesting. It is supposed to be a memoir of her divorce, and it mostly explains why she is such a hot mess- awful parents, most likely bipolar, which she brings up and then skips over completely. About a quarter of this book is just retelling stories she already told. I always figured she was exaggerating, and reading what she says about the local gas drilling reinforces this- the issues are problematic enough in that area (and I mean the very specific location she protests over not oil and gas development in general which is a whole other animal), no need to make stuff up. I feel really sorry for her kids. I strongly recommend, Let's Not go to the Dogs Tonight.

Early Warning by Jane Smiley. I really liked this book, but it is long and rambling and it gets very mixed reviews.

Listened to Rebel Belle- a YA adventure book by an author that is pretty popular with the booktube crowd. Nice romp, but not impressed. Nothing new or original here. I liked that it actually had a freaking conclusion though.!!!

[Rivercat]

I finally finished IT by Stephen King yesterday. Overall quite good, but too long and I had some problems with something the eleven year old girl does near the end that seemed more like gratuitous male adolescent fantasy than essential or relevant to the story. Though parts of the book were extremely gruesome, I thought he kept it to a minimum (for him) until the final act of the book.

I've also been reading Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People for a discussion group, and have been pleasantly surprised so far that it's not at all cynical as I'd feared it would be; mostly just about treating others well.

Moving on to A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar, loaned to me by a friend who loved it.

[BunnyHop]

Finished Grave Matters the other day, and got started on A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.

Grave Matters? I think the story was fine, but if you aren't in the mood for the continuation of a romance, it might not be for you. It took me forever to get started with it, but once I was about a hundred pages in I couldn't quit.

A Darker Shade of Magic? Definitely a good read. Started it yesterday and am about halfway through. Delighted to find this author.

[LynnO]

Originally Posted by BunnyHop

Finished Grave Matters the other day, and got started on A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.

Grave Matters? I think the story was fine, but if you aren't in the mood for the continuation of a romance, it might not be for you. It took me forever to get started with it, but once I was about a hundred pages in I couldn't quit.

A Darker Shade of Magic? Definitely a good read. Started it yesterday and am about halfway through. Delighted to find this author.

BunnyHop is Darker Shade of Magic an adult book? VE Schwab is very popular with the set who usually read YA books.