What book are you reading?

lisasha3

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Originally Posted by DixieDarlin256

Ok, I'm confused. I thought that was a dream he had... Guess not
Maybe it was. At this point - I guess I really don't know. Seems I'm suffering from a really bad case of CRS.
.
Maybe I shouldn't offer details anymore. All I'll tell ya is at one time - I think I liked reading them all.
 

natalie_ca

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I'm an avid reader and usually read at least 2 novels a week when I have them available to read.

I do a book review on the books I read for a graphic group that I'm in, so I'll just paste what I've posted there about the last 2 books I've read.

"Consent to Kill" by Vince Flynn.

I just finished reading "Consent to Kill" by Vince Flynn.

It's 675 pages, plus about 12 pages of his next book.

"Consent to Kill" is a political spy thriller. The main character is "Mitch Rapp", a highly trained CIA Counterterrorist (assassin). His job has earned him a number of enemies over the years and one of them wants "eye for an eye" and has put a multi million dollar bounty on Mitch Rapp's head.

The author has certainly done his research and the strategies used in the book are real strategies that various government intelligence groups use around the world. It's quite interesting in that regard.

The book moves at a reasonably good pace with the exception of a few places where it just seems to ramble and repeat the same thing in different words over a few pages, but that can be forgiven because the plot itself is interesting.

You will find yourself loving some characters, despising others and pitying other ones.

The writing style took me a little while to get used to. The grammar seems very unsophisticated in some places and quite "simpleton" in nature when there doesn't seem to be a reason in the story for it to be like that. In addition to poor grammar I noticed quite a number of spelling mistakes which I'm surprised weren't caught before it went to publish a number of times already.

Over all the book is a very worthy read if you like political spy thrillers and intrigue.


"Predator" by Patricia Cornwell

I'm not much of a Patricia Cornwell fan. To be honest I've only read one other of her books. I think it might have been "Black Notice", but I'm not sure. Whatever it was it was dragging.... badly! I got to about 3/4 of the book and there still seemed to be no heightening excitement and anticipation in finding out "who done it". Someone at work told me that in order to find out who done it, you had to buy the next book. I gave up on the book at that time. I couldn't imagine trying to read the next book because the first one I was reading was so awful!

Anyway, I ran out of reading material and didn't have anything on hand so last week I bought another Patricia Cornwell book called Predator when I was at Safeway.

It's only about 412 pages and I can easily finish a book that size in 2 readings, 3 if I'm tired and fall asleep, LOL

I'm on page 126 and I'm completely confused. So many characters have been introduced and then dropped and then picked up again later that you forget who the heck they were and what part they have in the story, and so far I can't figure out what some people are even doing in the story! LOL

I checked at Amazon.com and found that many have given it a 2 star rating and a poor review. I'll quote what someone posted as a review there:

"
Without the context of the previous books of the series, the characters behave in pointless and confusing ways. Why are Marino and Kay angry at each other? What is the Academy? Who is Benton Wesley, and what on earth is Lucy's problem? Even with the history of the previous books, the characters are flat, and their behaviour bizarre without being interesting. Even the new characters, Joe, Dr Self, Hog and Basil, are dull and shallow. The lack of a credible back story, the overly complicated plot and the reliance on characterisation set out in previous books to explain behaviour in this book is just plain lazy. A novel is supposed to be able to stand in its own right as an independent work, not just as an episode in an ongoing soap opera. Who really cares about citrus canker, anyway?"


I give the book 1 star and that's generous considering I'm not even going to bother finishing it. My recommendation is to save your money.

I doubt I'll be buying any more of her novels given the fact that the only 2 I have tried to read fell flat with me.

******************
My favourite books:

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
 

snuzy

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I'm a big reader too, but horror and suspense aren't my favorites. I've read all Jodi Picoult's books and enjoyed them. She came to our library and gave a talk and was very good. Also like Anita Shreve, Chris Bohjalian, Sara Donati--great historical fiction/ romance. Many others too. Love to hear what everyone else is reading for suggestions.
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by DixieDarlin256

Who's it by? What's it about?
What's your favortie book and who's your favorite author?


I'm a bookworm. I LOVE to read. Especially horror, suspense and mystery.
I LOVE Stephen King. My favorite book is Desperation by him.
Right now I'm reading "Cell" by Stephen King.
I'm just through the first chapter and it's about people going crazy from using cellphones
I am reading THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV at present however I just returned from the bookstore where I saw a book translated from the Japanese called I AM A CAT that Is about a cat's perspective on humans which will be my next book.
 

russ0268

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No John Irving, or Pan Conroy fans. These are two of my favorite authors. Love the way they tell stories, as far as I'm concerned they have written some of the best novels out there.

Laurie
 

essayons89

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I haven't read anything in the past month but so far this year I've read:

Tolkien:
The Book of Lost Tales, part one
The Book of Lost Tales, part two
The Lays of Beleriand
The Shaping of Middle-earth
The Lost Road and Other Writings
The Return of the Shadow
The Treason of Isengard
The War of the Ring
The books listed above are part of a 12 book set known collectively as The History of Middle-earth. The last three that I listed deal exclusively with J.R.R. Tolkien's earliest writings, drafts and revisions of what would become The Lord of the Rings.

Other Tolkien (and related) books that I have read this year are:
The Silmarillion
Tolkien and The Great War by John Garth
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
The Road to Middle-earth: Revised and Expanded Edition by Tom Shippey
The Tolkien Reader by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tom Clancy:
Debt of Honor
Executive Orders
The Bear and the Dragon
Red Rabbit

Other:
Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers by Larry Alexander

Bryan
 

catfriend

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Right now I am reading "Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain - and How It Changed the World" which is a historical perspective on brain science and society.
Catfriend
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by maddensmom

Here we go again! LOL

Right now I'm not reading anything, but Stephen King is also my fave author and I too LOVE to read!!

I read Cell a couple of months ago, and I thought it was awesome! Its one of those that you can't put down! I liked Desperation but my favorite Stephen King book of all time is Rose Madder, one of his weirdest, but still my favorite. Coming in a close second would have to be The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. That one was awesome too.
Here is the good news: I have worked myself up to number 151 on the waiting list for Lisey's Story at the Plano Public Library!! And now I apply a little math, there are twenty copies, each person keeps it as long as they can: 3 weeks, so I am looking at probably April. Of course I guess I could just go out and buy it but I pay taxes!!!
 

erinandseamus

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Originally Posted by Catfriend

Right now I am reading "Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain - and How It Changed the World" which is a historical perspective on brain science and society.
Catfriend
That sounds really interesting. I'll have to look it up.

I'm currently reading Kathy Reichs' "Deja Dead" which I guess is the first of the Temperance Brennan books. I've been a fan of the show "Bones" for a while now, and thought I'd better get started on the books.

Also, I needed a new author until my faves continue their series
Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series
Val McDermid's Tony Hill/Carol Jordan books
Mark Billingham
Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series
and John Sandford's Prey series

In the nonfiction genre I favor the journal "Foreign Affairs" and I was reading Francis Fukuyama's "America at the Crossroads" but halfway through I thought he started repeating himself quite a bit.
 

snuzy

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I'm waiting for Diana Gabaldon's next one too. And from reading her website, I think its going to be a while.
Fortunately I didn't start reading her until she had the first few done, but I had to wait for the Breath of Snow and Ashes too. If you like her, try Sara Donati. Her first book is Into the Wilderness, and there are 3 or 4 more after that. I'm waiting for her next one too. There is no time travel, but it takes place in the late 1700's -early 1800's. (the last one had the War of 1812 in it. Like Diana she has some pretty steamy scenes at least in the earlier books. I believe one of her characters mentions Claire in one of her books since they take place at the same time. Sara is a big Gabaldon fan too. And Jaime reminds me a lot of Nathaniel (Sara's strapping hunk)


Is Jean Auel really writing another one? I'm never going to remember what happened in the earlier ones now! And they're much too long to reread.

I really like Bones too. Didn't know there were books. Have to go look them up in the library now. Thanks!
 

ericanicole

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Originally Posted by Catfriend

Right now I am reading "Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain - and How It Changed the World" which is a historical perspective on brain science and society.
Catfriend
that sounds like a really interesting book.
I might actually go get a copy.


ya know what...we should start a book club on here! or somewhere!
 

iamluckysmom

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I love to read. I read God's Word, it is life. I really enjoy Katherine Stone. She was a surgeon and when she became an author she really took off, love stories, romance with a mysterious twist. Not the cookie cutter type like Danielle Steel turned out to be. I alos really dig Sue Grafton. I can't wait for "S" She is doing the alphabet series, a is for alibi, be is for burgeler, c is for corpse, d is for deadbeat and so on. Very good.

And Nickloas Sparks. The Notebook....yeah him. Really good stuff.
 

katl8e

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I'm reading "Flags of Our Fathers". My dad was one of the Marines on Iwo Jima and he doesn't talk about it. He has a very nice picture of himself in a color guard, at the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Now, I just need to scare up a date and go see the movie.
 

pat locani

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Originally Posted by maddensmom

... but my favorite Stephen King book of all time is Rose Madder,..
Mine, too. I read it when it first came out and read it again a few months ago. I was curious to see if it had the same impact. It did. When he wrote Gerald's Game, Delores Claiborne, and Rose Madder, I figured he was letting loose on some of the input from the females in his family. The worst monsters walk upright, no doubt about it.

I just finished Lisey's Story (good one), will now look for Cell.
 

katl8e

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Originally Posted by Phat Locani

Mine, too. I read it when it first came out and read it again a few months ago. I was curious to see if it had the same impact. It did. When he wrote Gerald's Game, Delores Claiborne, and Rose Madder, I figured he was letting loose on some of the input from the females in his family. The worst monsters walk upright, no doubt about it.

I just finished Lisey's Story (good one), will now look for Cell.
"Cell" isn't as good, as some of King's other books. Lately, it seems as if he is just "phoning in" his books. "Cell" seems to be just a rehashing of "The Stand", with a different "disease". I know that King is just trying to finish out a contract, before retiring but, I have not been completely satisfied with his last few books. The end of the "Dark Tower" series was a complete BUST. I have "Lisey's Story" in my new book stack and wil probably get to it, this week.
 

catfriend

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Originally Posted by EricaNicole

that sounds like a really interesting book.
I might actually go get a copy.


ya know what...we should start a book club on here! or somewhere!
Originally Posted by Catfriend
Right now I am reading "Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain - and How It Changed the World" which is a historical perspective on brain science and society.
Catfriend

It is pretty interesting, but so far it deals only with western thought. I would like to learn about the eastern belief during the same period (17th century).
Catfriend
 

katl8e

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Just finished "Flags of Our Fathers" and am more understanding of WHY my dad doesn't talk about the Pacific theater. Considering the Marines' casualty rates, Pops is lucky to have come through, without a scratch.
 
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