It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Button
" data-orig-size="474,356" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" aperture="aperture" /> Hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, this is a weekly event to share what we’ve read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind. Here is what I read the week ending 14 May 2018. To learn more about each book, just click on the book cover!Four DNF books in a row is unprecedented in the history of my reading. I just don’t do that, and to do it on four books. I am still trying to wrap my head around it. I don’t regret not finishing them, but I am wondering what happened. Usually I am spot on in the books I request that DNFs are indeed rare. So something broke down in my internal book selection guide when I was requesting these books I fear. Let’s hope the May requests are more successful!
FINISHED SINCE THE LAST UPDATE:
Book Cover Image: Circe by Madeline Miller
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Book Cover Image: Head On by John Scalzi
" data-orig-size="265,400" sizes="(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px" aperture="aperture" />Y’all. I love mythology. I always have. I love how humans have used stories about gods and goddesses to explain away nature and hardship. There is a part of me that thinks it makes more sense than one all-knowing God/Allah or whatever who has no problems letting horrible things happen to good people and good things happen to horrible ones. Madeline Miller’s new novel confirms my love of mythology in a way that makes me so very happy. It is SO good. Well-written, well-researched. I found myself taking my time, savoring each page and just enjoying the story as it unfolded.
It took John Scalzi to break me out of my reading ennui and thank goodness he did. His follow-up novel about people who are locked into their bodies was exactly what I needed. Smart, sharp, compelling, it is just another example of his skill as an author.
DID NOT FINISH:
Book Cover Image: The Soul of a Thief by Steven Hartov
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Book Cover Image: The Elizas by Sara Shepard
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Book Cover Image: The Little Clan by Iris Martin Cohen
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Book Cover Image: The Only Story by Julian Barnes
" data-orig-size="284,400" sizes="(max-width: 213px) 100vw, 213px" aperture="aperture" />I read to the 21 percent point and realized that not only was I not really enjoying the novel, I was skimming through as much as possible in an effort to plow through it. That is not how I want to read any book, especially so early on in the story. As for the story, to me it is yet another World War II book in which the protagonist insists he was just following orders and that neither he nor his commander were true Nazis. (This is a very simplified take on the story, but you catch my meaning.) Plus, I get that the story takes place during the war and that plenty of women in occupied cities were raped, but I don’t need descriptions of every scene or almost constant reminders of them. The whole thing turned me off to this one to the point where I feel absolutely no guilt about deleting it and moving on to the next book.
Holly adores Sara Shepard’s books, so I thought I would give her first foray into adult fiction a chance. It turns out that after 20 percent, I did not care enough about the character to want to continue. In fact, I did something I never do and flipped to the last few chapters to find out if I missed anything. It does not look like I did.
I did not even start the Iris Martin Cohen novel. When I was looking over the synopsis again, something about it failed to grab my interest. Then I looked at the ratings on Goodreads and figured that I was not going to miss anything by skipping it altogether.
Julian Barnes’ writing is gorgeous, and I initially fell in love with his latest novel. Then I felt the pretension of the main character and could not stomach the idea of finishing it. The writing may be gorgeous, but I was not willing to suffer through the characters just to enjoy the writing.
CURRENT READ:
Book Cover Image: The Complication by Suzanne Young
" data-orig-size="266,400" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" aperture="aperture" />CURRENT LISTEN:
Book Cover Image: Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper
" data-orig-size="258,400" sizes="(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px" aperture="aperture" />NEXT UP:
May Review Copies:
I have been looking forward to this month’s batch of review copies for months now. I’ve got the end of one of my favorite series, a sequel to one I loved last year, my favorite author, a good mix of YA and adult, science fiction, fantasy, horror, suspense, and some historical fiction thrown in for good measure. Bring them on!
Book Cover Image: The Pisces by Melissa Broder
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Book Cover Image: Wicked River by Jenny Milchman
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Book Cover Image: Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
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Book Cover Image: The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
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Book Cover Image: Obscura by Joe Hart
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Book Cover Image: Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall
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Book Cover Image: Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin
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Book Cover Image: A Shout in the Ruins by Kevin Powers
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Book Cover Image: Onyx & Ivory by MIndee Arnett
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Book Cover Image: Tin Man by Sarah Winman
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Book Cover Image: Furyborn by Claire Legrand
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Book Cover Image The Glitch by Elisabeth Cohen
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Book Cover Image: Legendary by Stephanie Garber
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Book Cover Image: The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
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Book Cover Image: Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff
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Book Cover Image: All the Little Lights by Jamie McGuire
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Book Cover Image: Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts
" data-orig-size="263,400" sizes="(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px" aperture="aperture" />So, what are you reading?
