Currently Reading Week of 8/9

[nikkiARNGwife]

What's the last book/books you finished?
What are you reading right now?
What's on your TBR?

What's the last book/books you finished?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2657.To_Kill_a_Mockingbird)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361975680l/2657.jpg
This was a reead after about 25 years. Loved it then, loved it even more now..gave it 5 stars.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24817626-go-set-a-watchman)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428234289l/24817626.jpg
I know there have been mixed feelings about this one which I get. But I went into it knowing that it was supposedly a first draft of TKAM...that Harper Lee never really wanted it published etc. Reading it with that in mind I enjoyed it..not as good as TKAM of course but good. 4 stars

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1)by Brandon Sanderson (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10063939-the-way-of-kings)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328961222l/10063939.jpg
Oh my gosh sooo good. Like right up there with Name of the Wind good. This is the best Sanderson I have ever read. LOVE! 5 stars

The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8694522-the-witch-s-daughter)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437694769l/8694522.jpg
Poorly written..big disappointment. 2 stars.

Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114136-silence-for-the-dead)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396228222l/18114136.jpg
Simone St. James is one of those authors who you always know you can pick up and will have a nice, entertaining quick read. Her stories usually revolve around a ghost story of some kind and are set in WWI-1920's era England. This wasn't my fave of hers but still good. 3 stars

An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St. James (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808471-an-inquiry-into-love-and-death)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354726547l/15808471.jpg
This one was probably my fave of St. James so far. Really good story and characters. 4 stars

I then read several holocaust era memoirs and true stories...they were all powerful and engrossing and of course tragic.
The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust
by Edith Hahn Beer (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/682761.The_Nazi_Officer_s_Wife)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1177117840l/682761.jpg

The Journal of Hélène Berr by Hélène Berr (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4600787-the-journal-of-h-l-ne-berr)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320534834l/4600787.jpg
This one was very interesting...her diary in her own words.

Determined by A. Avraham Perlmutter (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23517360-determined)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415483165l/23517360.jpg

Brisko: a true tale of Holocaust survival by Steven Paul Winkelstein (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23605417-brisko)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419007167l/23605417.jpg
Middle grade retelling of a true story. Very good.

Out on a Ledge: Enduring the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz, and Beyond by Eva Libitzky (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23948305-out-on-a-ledge)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418948298l/23948305.jpg

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Hogwarts Library)
by J.K. Rowling, Newt Scamander (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16122237-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373805017l/16122237.jpg
Loved...just needed illustrations to make it perfect

Ghostgirl (Ghostgirl #1)by Tonya Hurley (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2508164.Ghostgirl)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433291063l/2508164.jpg
I picked this up second hand b/c it's a very pretty book. Well made, pretty illustrations, foiled edges. Unfortunately the inside doesn't stack up. Maybe it would appeal more to teens but I found the story silly and was just bored.

What are you reading right now?

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33013.Far_from_the_Madding_Crowd)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320511488l/33013.jpg

Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2) by Brandon Sanderson (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20343865-words-ofadiance) on audible and it's sooo good.
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394056286l/20343865.jpg

What's on your TBR?

Armada by Ernest Cline (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16278318-armada?from_search=true&search_version=service)
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377284428l/16278318.jpg
This one WILL be next as soon as I finish Words of Radiance on audible.

Not really sure what hardcopy I'll pick up next..probably another classic...possible another Hardy..just depends on what I'm feeling :)

[YepBrook]

What's the last book/books you finished?
The Handmaid's Tale (http://www.amazon.com/dp/038549081X/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=74749526724&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9521571888070066390&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_107ccs4c78_b)
http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294702760l/38447.jpg
I liked it a lot... 4 out of 5 stars. It was a quick read, hard to put down.

What are you reading right now?
Orange is the New Black (http://www.amazon.com/Orange-New-Black-Womens-Prison/dp/0385523394/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439155599&sr=1-1&keywords=orange+is+the+new+black)
http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780385523394_p0_v2_s260x420.JPG
I am enjoying this book very much. I've never watched the TV series, so it's all new to me. I love the glimpse into prison life through Piper's eyes. Her story is interesting and the book is well written. It moves along nicely. It's only *just* started to drag... I'm a little more than 3/4 of the way through.

What's on your TBR?
Gone Girl (http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Gillian-Flynn/dp/0307588378)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41yZreG2lcL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
This looks like the type of book I gravitate towards. I plan to pick it up next.

[luckyme]

What's the last book/books you finished?

https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357531330l/10305456.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10305456-the-waterat-of-wanchai?from_search=true&search_version=service)

This is a really good book about a forensic accountant... and it's a fun page-turner.

What are you reading right now?

https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418766517l/23602562.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23602562-our-souls-at-night)

What's on your TBR?

https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394898159l/77203.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77203.The_Kite_Runner?from_search=true&search_version=service)

[kristijoy]

I just read 'Photo Finished' by Laura Childs. It's been a long time since I've read a mystery novel. This was so much fun! In between clues they stop to scrap, make projects, and eat! LOL!

[Kjersti]

I finished:
Six Months Later (http://www.amazon.com/Six-Months-Later-Natalie-Richards/dp/1402285515/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439178532&sr=8-1&keywords=six+months+later). A fun suspense/mystery book. I loved trying to piece the puzzle together.

The next was Before I Fall (http://www.amazon.com/Before-I-Fall-Lauren-Oliver/dp/0061726818/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439178630&sr=8-1&keywords=before+I+fall). It's a bit like Groundhog Day where she lives the last day of her life over and over...but the minor changes she makes have a big impact. I enjoyed this book.

My favorite was The Martian (http://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439178725&sr=8-1&keywords=the+martian). I love, love, loved this book! I highly recommend it (then again...I am a math/science geek) Nothing like a sarcastic astronaut stranded on Mars. I get to hear the author speak next month and I'm beyond excited!

I'm currently reading Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen (http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Salvation-Dairy-Queen-Novel-ebook/dp/B000UZNR32/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1439178827&sr=1-1&keywords=finding+salvation+at+the+dairy+queen). I'm only 30% in so I'm not sure where this book is taking me!!

[Misty Cato]

Recently finished ...

The Royal We by Heather Cocks - Thought it just drug along most of the book.
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421107274l/22875451.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22875451-theoyal-we?from_search=true&search_version=service)

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert - Interesting read. Loved the time period and scientific aspects.
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364277893l/17465453.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465453-the-signature-of-all-things?from_search=true&search_version=service)

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey - I never would have picked this one up if I knew what I was getting into, but I ended up really liking it. Great read.
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579l/17235026.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17235026-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts)

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - Another good one, interesting to read a WWII novel set in Paris.
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422580224l/21853621.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21853621-the-nightingale)

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg - I found this far more insightful and applicable to me that I ever expected.
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364250803l/16071764.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16071764-lean-in?from_search=true&search_version=service)


Currently Reading...

Armada by Ernest Cline
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377284428l/16278318.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16278318-armada?from_search=true&search_version=service)

Next Up...

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421709869l/22557272.jpg (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22557272-the-girl-on-the-train?from_search=true&search_version=service)

[JenM]

I just finished reading Grey by EL James and it was good for a fun read. Still a little intense for me and I was embarrassed to be reading it in the doctor's office while waiting for my son to have his sports physical but it was good and neat to read it from his point of view.

I also just finished reading The Heir by Kiera Cass. It is book #4 in The Selection series and the whole series is kind of like The Hunger Games crossed with the TV show The Bachelorette. It is a typical YA book, I love him, no I don't kind of story but it was a good fun read. This one definitely set the series up for another book.

Right now I am starting Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It was recommended to me by a friend and I think it is one my son will like and I like to read what he reads so we can talk about it.

[Libby Pritchett]

Jen, I LOVED the Selection series! I'm still waiting for The Heir from the library, but the first 3 were fabulous!

I think you'll LOVE Ready Player One. It was SUCH a fun read!

Kjersti, I loved the Martian, too! His sense of humor was right up my alley. I can't wait for the movie this fall!

The most recent book I tried to read was Serena (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17675652-serena), but I quit a little less than 1/2 way through. It isn't often that I give up on a book, but I just really wasn't enjoying it. I found that I was having to force myself to get back to reading, and I decided that my time is limited enough that I should just cut my losses.

https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415581173l/17675652.jpg

I'm currently reading Half Way Home by Hugh Howey (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8428985-half-way-home). I don't like it as much as I liked his Wool series, but it's entertaining and a fairly easy read. I don't know if this is part of a series, but if it is, I don't think I care enough about it to read past this book.

https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386920488l/19412420.jpg


I've got several things on my TBR list... I know I want to reead To Kill A Mockingbird since I haven't read it in nearly 25 years. And then I want to read Go Set A Watchman.

I should be getting All The Light We Cannot See (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see?from_search=true&search_version=service) from the library soon.

I also want to reead the entire Timebound (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18108877-timebound?from_search=true&search_version=service) series by Rysa Walker before the final installment of the series comes out in October.

https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371864811l/18108877.jpg

I'm on hold for several things from the library, so it really just depends on what comes through when.