What I am reading!

Time for another book update post!  I actually read a lot over the last month because the books were short.

woodcutter

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The Woodcutter – by Kate Danley.

I really, really enjoyed this book.  A very unique twist of Grimm’s fairy tales.  It’s the story of all fairy tales through the point of view of the woodcutter. He is the protector of the woods and the fairy tales start going wrong. It starts with Cinderella being killed and the woodcutter needs to find out who is interfering.  A bit of a murder mystery with a touch of fae.  There is a lot of good imagery in it.  It took me a few chapters to warm to it, but then I had trouble putting it down. If you have a soft spot for fairy tales, you will enjoy this book.

Borrowed from Kindle Owner’s Lending Library.

 

gaj

The Golem and the Jinni – by Helene Wecker

I LOVED this book! Loved it!  I can’t believe this is a debut book by this author, either.  It is the story of 2 mythological figures. One is a golem who is brought to life, but her master is killed. The other is a Jinni (kind of a genie), who is a fire spirit who gets trapped in human form. They end up in NYC in the old immigrant neighborhoods and eventually meet.  What I love about this book is all of the layers of story.  A golem’s sole purpose in life is to obey a master, so there is much analogy with free will and going against your nature.  The jinni is more the opposite as a selfish free spirit caged and working for others. Their struggle to find where they fit in is so very well written.  Then there were the humans that they interacted with, only a very few who knew their true nature, and how they dealt with it. I was sad when this book finished. This is easily now my favorite book that I have read all year. Borrowed from my library.  Go read it now!

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diner

The Dinner – Herman Koch.

I can’t understand why this book is an international best seller. It does seem similar to Gone Girl – and I hated that book, so maybe why I disliked this one so much?

None of the characters are likable at all, which isn’t a total necessity to liking a book, but they are very disturbing and don’t do anything that makes you want to root for them.

I think the premise of the book is a bit odd as well. The book is about 2 sets of parents (2 of them brothers), who meet at a 5 star restaurant to discuss the futures of their respective sons, who have committed a very bad deed. Why on earth you would go to a 5 star restaurant to discuss this is probably what bothers me the most. Would you not want to do this in private?

The other part was how the narrator would leave out information and say “but I don’t need to tell you ____ because that is too much information and you can figure it out”. Like the naming of restaurants, parks, schools, the illness his wife had in the past. I don’t get that. When he comes out and describes other things that you would think he wouldn’t want to admit to rather than something so pedestrian as a restaurant.  Anyway, I kept waffling about finishing this book and then went ahead hoping it would get better, which it didn’t. Borrowed from my library.

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pee

I Could Pee on This

This was a cute little collection of poems told from a cat’s point of view. Also lots of cat pictures.  Not too much to say other than that. Borrowed from my library.

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And then, I read a stupid, stupid romance book.  I wanted something totally mindless to read and figured a bodice ripper would fit the bill.  So, I looked up free books on Amazon and picked one with a high star rating in the historical fiction category.

Problem 1:  It was a romance novel.

Problem 2:  It was a pirate romance. (I know!!!!)

Problem 3:  People giving the stars LIE!!!

I don’t know what on earth I was thinking as this type of book usually sends my feminist antennae into overdrive and this book was no exception, let alone the insipid dialogue and writing style.  I am not even going to list the book here because I know a lot of people like these books (as evidenced by all the stupid stars!!!) and this is just totally all my issue, so I don’t want to drag a book through a scathing review when I am biased.  I’m still counting the book on my list, though, because I mucked through it. :mrgreen:

 

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Anyway, I am going to easily surpass my goal of 30 books this year.  I may change my goal. What are you reading?

15 thoughts on “What I am reading!”

  1. debby

    Well, I have to admit, I am mostly reading SAMPLES of books. I don’t seem to be able to settle down for long enough to read a whole book, especially when I have so much handwork that I want to do. I’m thinking about signing up for Audible, so I can listen to books. Or maybe I’ll check out the library and see what they have available.

    But I did end up paying for the Amazon Prime, so I am glad to have recommendations for the free lending library!

    1. Lori Post author

      My library has a good collection of books on kindle, which is perfect for me. I get a lot of samples, too. In fact – I made a sample folder on my kindle just to hold them all LOL!

  2. Molly

    As I’m recovering from a surgery and can’t get to the library, I’m rereading some of my own books: Shogun (James Clavell), Shopgirl (Steve Martin), The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) and The Prince of Tides (Pat Conroy). I think I’ll switch to nonfiction now and read Rise of the Warrior Cop (Radley Balko), a new book I just purchased via Amazon.
    Yay reading!
    Molly

  3. deb

    Wow! I may definitely have to check out those first two books you mentioned…..sounds
    right up my alley. 🙂 I just finished a non fiction book…a rarity for me…. Its by Joe
    Kane about kayaking the Amazon river from its source high in the Andes mountains to where
    it pours into the Atlantic…..I really enjoyed it.

    Taking a reading break for awhile….i get so caught up i get nothing
    else done. LOL! Hugs! deb

  4. Shelley B

    That Grimm book sounds interesting! I am trying to read a Spellman Files book but having trouble with it – pretty sure it’s me and not the book…my attention for books has really waned in the last few years. Probably something to do with perimenopause, I’m sure. Between obesity and that, you can pretty much blame everything on those two issues. 😉

  5. Fran

    Oh my gosh: you read a Dutch author? I couldn’t believe seeing this in the list. Herman Koch is a Dutch comic. I didn’t even know this book was translated. That said I haven’t read it because it didn’t look that interesting to me. Now I definitely won’t read it.

  7. Ali @ Peaches and Football

    “bodice ripper” – bwahahaha

    I call them “TRNs” trashy romance novels. I would read them by the backpack full in college (how did I have the time?) and actually kept a list of ridiculous words I found in the books tacked to the fridge. Then I would try and randomly throw them into idle conversation… like “Hell’s Teeth” instead of “oh no!”. Pretty crazy – but I still love those books because they require zero brain function to read. 🙂

  8. Helen

    You know, in the heat of summer I tend to read a lot of “fluff” books. Maybe because I do so much reading at the beach and need to have things that are easy.

    Through one of the Amazon deals of the day, I just read Hide and Snoop which is a mystery with a female lead named Odelia Grey. Very entertaining and I would read other books in that series when they are free or 99 cents.

    I also borrowed War Brides from the Amazon lending library. More serious but excellent and with strong female main characters. I guess I was into that this summer.

    At the beginning of the summer, on the recommendation of a friend, I bought Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Very serious book about Japanese internment camps. It’s currently being developed into a Broadway Play. That book was excellent and probably my favorite book of the summer.

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