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Tag: Finished
Finished, Reading, Will Read Next
I just finished The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker. The writing was fantastic, but the story didn’t pull me in as much as I hoped it would. I’d recommend to anyone who likes books about art and artists. In some ways it reminded me a lot of The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer.
I’m currently reading The Wife Between Us. It’s the perfect type of brain-candy-psychological-thriller book that I need at this time in the semester when I’m generally too preoccupied with grading to concentrate on anything else. I know some readers found it derivative and not riveting enough. It’s working for me in part because it isn’t demanding much from me. I also love books about flawed women and rich people.
Next up is A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne. I really loved The Heart’s Invisible Furies when I read it last year. This one also seems to be getting a lot of praise by reviewers and bloggers I trust. NPR described it as Meg Wolitzer’s The Wife meets Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. I liked both of those books when I read them years ago. I figure this will be a slam-dunk for me. This book is my treat after I submit final grades.
Finished, Reading, Will Read Next
Finished: The Cabin at the End of the World
Brief Summary: A band of four weirdos show up at the New Hampshire vacation cabin of a married couple, Eric and Andrew, and their daughter Wen. The weirdos tell Eric and Andrew that unless one of them willingly kills the other, the world will end. Are they wackos or visionaries? Who’s getting out of the cabin alive?
My Report: Meh. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you absolutely love horror novels and are looking for something that’s well-written and creepy. I just didn’t love the way it played out.
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Reading: The Clock Dance
Brief Summary: Willa Drake revisits pivotal moments in her life, beginning with the day her mother disappeared in 1967.
Initial Thoughts: Anne Tyler can do no wrong. Charming and insightful as usual. Tyler is a deceptively thoughtful writer. By that I mean that you almost forget how profound she is because she makes it seem so easy.
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Will Read Next: The Book of Essie
Why I Put It on My List: It’s about reality TV and a cult-like religion and a female protagonist who begins to question everything. Yes, please.
Finished. Started. Anticipating.
Finished
If you love time travel, history of the Middle Ages, and the black plague, you must read this book immediately.
It could’ve used a stronger editor because it was a little bloated at times. I can forgive that, though, because the characters were solid and the research really brought this time period to life.
I’m not sure I’ll tackle the sequels right away, but I really did enjoy reading this one.
Started
Oh, how I love a good unreliable narrator. I’m only about 15% into this one, but the sociopathic narrator is exactly the kind of manipulative mind I like to examine from afar.
Reviewers are calling it dark. It absolutely is. If you don’t like the kind of psychological thrillers that mess with your head, this one isn’t for you.
So far, it reminds me a bit of You: A Novel by Caroline Kepnes.
Anticipating
I have this on hold from the library. I know nothing about it except the blurb below.
“They were on a lark, three teenage girls speeding across the greens at night on a “borrowed” golf cart, drunk. The cart crashes and one of the girls lands violently in the rough, killed instantly. The driver, Jo, flees the hometown that has turned against her and enrolls at a prestigious boarding school. Her past weighs on her. She is responsible for the death of her best friend. She has tipped her parents’ rocky marriage into demise. She is ready to begin again, far away from the accident.”
I’m pretty sure I heard about it from Liberty Hardy on the All the Books podcast. She rarely steers me wrong!
Christine Seifert 