Reading Thread/Goals for 2025

[melk]

21/30 Count My Lies by Sophie Stava

A compulsive liar manages to get hired as a nanny for a wealthy, privileged New York couple. But their picture perfect life may not be what it seems and she may not be the only one lying. Twisty and somewhat suspenseful.

22/30 The Names by Florence Knapp

This novel asks the question: can a name change the course of a life? Spanning thirty-five years, the story follows three alternating versions of the life of a family, shaped by the mother’s choice of a name for her baby boy.

I could not put this book down. While it’s a little confusing keeping the alternating storylines straight, it’s fascinating to see how one choice this mother makes puts their lives into three completely different trajectories. Be forewarned it does deal with domestic abuse and can be difficult to read at times. But I got completely caught up in the character’s lives.

 

[cayennews]

#23 The Cellar by Natasha Preston. I enjoyed this book, but the end was a little lack luster. I wanted more. Very good overall.

 

[cayennews]

#23 The Housemaid's Secret by Frieda McFadden
#24 The Housemaid is Watching by Frieda McFadden

So I decided to finish the series. I actually liked the last book the best. Now I'm going to re-read the last parts of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn this week so I can start Kingdom of Ash next week.

I was iffy about reading the 2nd and 3rd books, but I will give them a try since you liked them. Thanks!

 

[Kirby]

22/30 The Names by Florence Knapp

I've added this to my to read list.

#22 - The Story of Arthur Truluv; first book of the Mason series by Elizabeth Berg
Genre - Literary Fiction

An elderly man has lunch at his wife's grave every day and meets a teenage girl that frequents the cemetery during her school lunch time to get away from the kids who aren't nice to her. I really enjoyed reading this book and will continue on with the series.

 

[Wood Nymph]

22/30 - A Caribbean Mystery - a Miss Marple story 3/5
23/30 - The Man in the Brown Suit - introduces Colonel Race 4.5/5

Both of these are Agatha Christie stories, but I liked the Man in the Brown Suit much more than the other. I like the author's earlier works. She seems to have more interesting "stuff" in them. The Man in the Brown Suit was published in 1924. It almost has an adventure story feel to it.

 

[OKW8297]

10. The Wedding People by Alison Espach. This is not what I expected but better. It’s can’t say more without giving too much away but it is a deeper read than it appears and I really enjoyed it.

 

[mgarbowski]

Book 5 of 24 - Salt, A World History - Mark Kurlansky (Audio)
Book 6 of 24 - The Wailing Wind (Leaphorn & Chee #15) - Tony Hillerman
Book 7 of 24 - The Habsburgs: To Rule the World - Martyn Rady (Audio)
Book 8 of 24 - Strip Tease - Carl Hiaasen
Book 9 of 24 - Eleven Numbers - Lee Child
Book 10 of 24 - Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Book 11 of 24 - Burma '44 - James Holland (Audio)
Book 12 of 24 - Siege of Vraks - Steve Lyons (Audio)
Book 13 of 24 - System Collapse - (Murderbot #7) - Martha Wells
Book 14 of 24 - Dune - Frank Herbert
Book 15 of 24 - The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the great to Cleopatra - Toby Wilkinson (Audio)

Catching up from February as I kind of forgot to keep up posting here.

The Wailing Wind is part of the book series that is the basis for the Dark Winds TV show. I had bought the book a few years back, picked up the show recently and did not even know they were connected until I checked.
Strip Tease is by the author of Bad Monkey, a recent Apple+ TV show. I loved the show but this book not so much. I think I'm finding that a lot of black comedy sseems misanthropic to me and I don't like it. I guess that the TV show probably softened some harsh edges off its source material. Brave New World and Dune are rereads that I last read 40+ years ago. System Collapse disappointed me a bit. I loved the series so much but the ending didn't hit for me.

I listen to audiobooks while I ruck (walk with a weighted backpack). I like listening to history, mostly of the big sweeping variety. Salt is a fascinating look at the history of salt mining, trading and use over millennia. The Habsburgs got back to the 11th century and were at the center of European history from the 15th to 20th century. The Last Dynasty recounts the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, ending with Cleopatra when Egypt became part of the Roman Empire.

 

[cayennews]

#24 Saving Sandcastles by Meredith Summers. It was a very light book. I enjoyed it. It is book 1 of a series that focuses on women in their 40s and 50s.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

17/32 - The Day The World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland.

This book was released not long after 9/11, but I just heard about it, so I got it from the Library. It was so good. I kept tearing up the entire book at the kindness the people of Gander showed when over 3000 people needed to be housed and fed in their little town for nearly a week.

The musical "Come From Away" is based on this book and I can't recommend it highly enough if you have a chance to see it - either online or in person.

 

[Wood Nymph]

24/30 - The Surgeon - Teri Gerritsen - 4.5/5 - reall good

This was a very good murder mystery. I really like this author.

A female heart surgeon, terrorized by a serial killer in Boston using the same MO as a killer who attacked her during her internship years in Savannah, works with a detective to solve the crime while trying to stay alive.

 

[willowsnn3]

#17/25 When She Was Good by Michael Robotham
Evie Cormack was found as a child at the scene of a brutal murder, and refuses to tell anything of her past or what happened to her, because she fears that anyone who does know will get killed and get her killed.
Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven teams up with Sacha Hopewell, the police officer who found Evie, to try to find out what danger she fears and how to protect her from it, but it seems that the danger comes from some very powerful and influential people.
The story is not pretty and Evie is not safe.

Second in the Cyrus Haven series. I really enjoyed it.

 

[Simba's Mom]

A couple more good ones-

#27-Beach Vibes, Susan Mallery-just an enjoyable read with well-developed characters. Usually I enjoy Mallory's books, and this didn't disappoint. 4 stars.

#29-"The Underground Library, Jennifer Ryan- once I found out that it was based on fact, that an underground library did exist during the British bombings by the Nazis, I was so impressed with the spirit, the positive attitude of the Londoners during WWII. 4 1/2 stars at least. The added fictional part was wrapped up a little too neatly, but otherwise, exceptional to learn about.

 

[Kirby]

#23 - An unpublished book

My niece has written her first book. She's just finished her 1st rough draft and I was one of the lucky ones that she asked to read it. It's a light fantasy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. She had a nice two hour chat last about it. I've left the name off because it could change. Maybe one day you will get to read it too!

 

[cayennews]

#25 The Perfect Son by Frieda McFadden. I enjoyed this book. Leaves you wondering.

 

[melk]

23/30 The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

A novel about first love that explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate. I really enjoyed it. The second book I’ve read by this author, also taking place in Iran before the coup of 1953.

 

[wvjules]

#25 - Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas (Book 8 of 8 of the Throne of Glass Series) - Finally finished the series on Saturday (all 5,008 pages!). I am sad. I miss my friends. It was a fantastic ending to a great series. I'm already thinking about rereading it.

 

[MGMmjl]

19/32 - Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos

Description:
"Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, doing the same lawman's job his father once did now that he's returned home after decades away. With his twelve person department, they cover a large area that is usually very quiet, but not of late. One childhood friend is the latest to succumb to a new wave of particularly strong illegal opioids, another childhood friend—now an enormously successful rancher—is targeted by a military drone, hacked and commandeered by an unknown source. The hacker is apparently local—local enough to call out Beck by name—and that means they are Beck's problem.

Beck's investigation leads him to Mercy Vaughn, the one known hacker in the area. The problem is that she's a teenager, locked up with no computer access at the secure juvenile detention center. But there's something about Mercy that doesn't sit quite right with Beck. But when Mercy disappears, Beck understands that she's in danger and time is running out for all of them."

This is book #2 in the Porter Beck series. It was another good one, and I am really enjoying the series.

 

[Wood Nymph]

25/30 - Die Again - Teri Gerritsen - 3.5/5

I usually read a book series in order, but I was desperate and took one that is later in the series. It was a mistake because there were referrals to things that had happened earlier. I won't do it again.

"Detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are back--and they're going into the wild to find a killer.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Finally did it;
10/20, Robert Iger, "Ride of a Lifetime" 4/5
OK, here's the deal; if you are looking for a book, from Iger's perspective, about how he built his legacy PRIOR TO handing off the job to Chapek, and of course prior to COVID, then you will like this book. I found it interesting, I especially didn't know much about the relationship he had with Steve Jobs.
BUT....
Let's get real here; all any of us care about is what happened with Chapek, why he handed off the job to him, and what led to him taking the job back. Chapek is mentioned only once or twice and never in terms of being a potential successor. None of the good stuff is in this book, it all happened after this went to print. As long as you understand that, 4/5 stars is a fair rating. If you expect any of that, you will be severely disappointed

 

[wvjules]

#26 - Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez - Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

I needed a light read after finishing the Throne of Glass series and watching We Were Liars and this hit the spot. Not usually a romance-y reader but this one was cute.

Next up is We Were Liars and the prequel Family of Liars.