Reading Thread/Goals for 2025

[bobbiwoz]

I havent read a book in a long time. This is strange since we literally have a room in our house with each wall with shelves full of books we’ve inherited from relatives and some bought myself, many I haven’t read yet. I have been listening to books on the Audible app. Its easy to listen while I’m cooking, cleaning, driving kids around or whatever but it’s not the same and I miss sitting down with a good book. I’ve decided to start reading a book from our collection each week. I started a few weeks ago.

So far I’ve read:

“The Covenant of Water” Its about a family in India over a period of about 70 years, where someone in each generation dies by drowning due to what they think is a curse. It’s a good book.

“American Cosmic” it’s a non fiction book about a religious professor who gets immersed in the secret governmental world of ufo research. Great book (and true story) if you’re into that kind of thing.

“Our Mothers War” Non fiction book about women during WW2, at home and on the front. Really good book but long.

“Discovery of Witches” first book of the series. A woman discovers she’s a witch and ends up falling in love with a vampire, who should be her enemy. I really liked this.

“Treachery in Death” by JD Robb (Nora Robert’s pen-name). I’ve read a bunch of the “in death” books, they’re nice, easy reads. There’s a ton of them in the series. They’re about a female detective in the future, each books a different crime to solve.

Current book I’m on is “the Mermaid” about a mermaid who leaves the ocean to marry a human she fell in love with and after he dies she allows herself to become a sideshow in PT Barnums circus so she can make money. It’s ok so far.

Next on my agenda: the next book in the Discovery of Witches series.

I am intrigued by what you say about “The Covenant of Water, “ and decided to download it on Libby.

 

[MGMmjl]

12/32 - The Final Hunt by Audrey J. Cole

Description:
"Alone in a hunting cabin, off-grid in an untamed wilderness. How does a marriage come to this?

After John disappeared while hunting–presumed dead from a bear attack–Cameron found the crime photos. His role in the recent Seattle serial murders was discovered. The media destroyed her reputation. She lost her dental practice, is on the brink of losing her home.

Everyone has a secret. But if her husband could hide the unimaginable from her, who's to say he's truly dead?

'What brings you so far from home?' the Alaska State Trooper had asked. The truth."

This was a decent thriller. I enjoyed it.

 

[wvjules]

I am intrigued by what you say about “The Covenant of Water, “ and decided to download it on Libby.

I really enjoyed it.

 

[clappyclaps]

12/30 was meant to be Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison, a collection of sci-fi short stories. However after reading a few of the stories plus the lengthy intros and afterwords for each, I just couldn't face any more so gave up.

Instead I went back to a tried and tested favourite, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I've read this a couple of times before, the last time being 2017 and felt it was time to read one of my all time favourites again. Even on a repeat read, this magical story still keeps me captivates throughout and I struggled to put it down. 5/5

 

[bobbiwoz]

33/50 “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese. 4.5/5

 

[Massachusetts]

The Splendid and the Vile - Eric Larson
This is a biography of Winston Churchill and his family covering the first year of his role as Prime Minister. It is extremely well researched and reads as well as a novel. Overall an amazing insight into one of the greatest leaders in the history of Western Civilization. 5/5

Death's End - Liu Cixin
This is the conclusion of The Three Body Problem trilogy. A decent conclusion to a good series. No regrets in reading it but it is probably the weakest of the three books. At times I feel the author took the easy way out and didn't deliver some of the philosophical conundrums that he had in the first two books. 3.5/5

I am enjoying my current strategy of reading two books at the same time one in print and one via Kindle. I think that my appetite for Sci/Fi has been met for this calendar year. The rest of the year will be focused mainly on WWII nonfiction with some thriller/mystery and dark fantasy thrown in for an escape.

PS - I highly recommend the Netflix television adaptation of The Three Body problem. I had zero hope that they would be able to pull off a decent screen adaptation, but they did! Looking forward to Season 2.

PS-

 

[Kirby]

#17 - The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
Genre - Young Adult Romance

Inspired by the real-life story of the Patterson family, The Davenports is the tale of four determined and passionate young Black women discovering the courage to steer their own path in life—and love. It offers a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked.

It is a first book for Krystal Marquis. I give it a 4/5.

 

[clappyclaps]

13/30 - Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. About the death of a teenage girl and the impact it has on her parents and siblings.

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this book. On one hand I found it incredibly hard to put down, yet I found the majority of characters to be very unlikeable with their attitudes and behaviours. Kept reading as I wanted to know how it panned out, although the ending was a bit of a disappointment. Between a 3.5 or 4/5

 

[wvjules]

#15 Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (Book 2 of 7 of the Throne of Glass Series) - Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become the King's Champion. But she is far from loyal to the crown. Though she goes to great lengths to hide her secret, her deadly charade becomes more difficult when she realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. Her search for answers ensnares those closest to her, and no one is safe from suspicion-not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a princess with a rebel heart.

Now I am on The Assassin's Blade. There are many debates on when to read this one. Some say first, some say 3rd, other's 4th. I chose 3rd. We will see if I made the right decision in about a month or so when I finish the series.