Currently Reading Week of 8/27
 

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?

August has been a great reading month..it's amazing how much reading I can do when my kids go back to school and my husband deploys lol

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
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This was so good. I've read a lot of Hardy but somehow missed this one along the way and wanted to read it before I watched the new movie version...both are great. I gave it 4 stars.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
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This has been on my kindle forever and I finally read it this month. It was good..one of those books that are interesting and worth reading but didn't blow me away. I gave it 3 stars.

Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2) by Brandon Sanderson
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Oh my goodness gracious this was soooo good. If you love High Fantasy, if you love wonderful world building and interesting characters and kingdoms at war and princes and grizzled old soldiers and epic prophecy and destinies and mysterious assassins and giant killer crustaceans and tiny magical creatures, and magic and evil monks and twists and turns and everything else that makes high fantasy fan-freaking-tastic then read this series (only 2 books out so far). Listen to the audiobook too if you can b/c it's amazing. 5 stars.

Wildwood (Wildwood Chronicles #1)by Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis
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This is Middle Grade Fantasy/Magical Realism. The story is cute...very Narnia inspired. The illustrations are fantastic and there are several illustrated color plates throughout the book. The book itself is gorgeous. If it weren't for the illustrations and book design it would probably be a 3 star (which is still good) but the story plus the pics and design bump it up to 4 stars.

Armada by Ernest Cline - listened to the audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton
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Ah me...I know there are a lot of Ready Player One fans at SSD..and I'm one of them. It was one of my top 5 reads last year so Armada was one of my most anticipated books for 2015...and sadly one of my biggest disappointments. You can see my review on goodreads here if you'd like to know more of why. (may contain spoilers)

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore #1)
by Robin Sloan
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This is another that's been on my kindle a while and I've been looking forward to it because I love books about books...sadly I just didn't connect with this one. It was just okay.

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl (The Haunting of Sunshine Girl #1)
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This is YA Horror/Fantasy although I don't really consider it horror. I had a docs appt last week and forgot my book (I know right?) so I quickly downloaded this on my phone b/c I'd seen the cover it in the bookstore and thought it looked interesting. And the first half was okay...then it just went all down hill. After I finished it I discovered it's based on a web series which I didn't know and probably wouldn't have read if I had. Cool cover but poorly executed.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
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American Classic...4 stars

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
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Okay..so Wuthering Heights is my favorite book of all time. I've easily read it about 15 times over the past 20-25 years. I was due for another reead and had purchased this gorgeous edition last fall. It's still my fave...although I think I take away different things from it the older I get. When I was 19 or so, I was all about the romance of the story...it totally didn't matter to me what a complete jerk Heathcliff was and a total snot Cathy was. It was all about the love. Now I can see how their selfishness affected every other character in devastating ways. Such a quotable book. A masterpiece IMO. :)

What are you reading right now?

Under Wildwood (Wildwood Chronicles #2) by Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis
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Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles #1) by Anne Rice
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I have read the entire Vampire Chronicles and Companion books etc by Anne Rice but it's been a looong time. Like the last time I read this one I was in college like 23 years ago :crying:. But I want to reread them all before I pick up Prince Lestat (the newest) b/c I've forgotten so much of the story.

What's on your TBR?

Wildwood Imperium (Wildwood Chronicles #3)by Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis
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The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice

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Villette by Charlotte Brontë

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I was reading Ready Player One but my son for his AP English class needed a book that he could use for his assignment where he has to make a movie trailer for a book. And I thought from what I had read it would make a good movie so I gave it to him. He really likes it so I guess I'll finish it next month when the assignment is done.

So instead, I am now reading The Girl On The Train and it is nothing like I thought it was going to be but it is still really good. It is one of those books that doesn't give me all the information and it makes me want to keep reading even though I know I should go to bed because morning will come way too soon.

Just finished reading, The Young World by Chris Weitz. It was good and I really thought my son would like it but there was so much talk about rape and stuff and I just don't know if he needs that in his life.

On my nightstand, I also have Hunger by Michael Grant. It is book 2 in the Gone Series. It is a YA book and very much like The Young World. The only problem I have with the books is that they are SO LONG. I read really fast but these books are like Outlander or Game of Thrones long.

PS. I love reading about what other people are reading!!! :)

Nikki, I'm SO glad to read your review on Armada. I agree with you 100%. I'm not finished with it yet, but as I'm reading, I've already thought all the things you said. So disappointing because I was really looking forward to it. About the only positive thing I can say is that I'm glad I borrowed it from the library cause I would hate having to pay for it.

So, that's my current read.

Prior to that, I read Half Way Home by Hugh Howey. To be honest, I didn't like it nearly as much as Wool. It started out interesting, but by the end, I just couldn't wait for it to be over.

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I still 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.

First though, I have All The Light We Cannot See from the library, so that'll be next after Armada.

What's the last book/books you finished?

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I gave this one 3 stars. I'm already pretty good about keeping my home uncluttered and discarding/passing on things that I don't love or use anymore. The ideas in this book might be okay for people just starting out, but overall it seemed a little out of touch with how adults with families live.

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5 stars! I just devoured this book. I can't believe I put off reading it for so long.

What are you reading right now?

After the kite runner, I wanted something a little lighter...

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What's on your TBR?

This one just came in from the library:

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Dang, Nikki! You really ARE doing a lot of reading!

I just finished this:
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It's a classic in the Christian biography section. I had a language teacher in Indonesia whose tribe were headhunters until the missionaries came, so this story spoke to his experience.

I'm currently reading this:
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So far I'm finding it rings true. What is missing in my life right now is meaningful work, and knowing there is scientific evidence that meaningful work is essential to my own happiness has me looking for ways to make my days more meaningful.

I just got this from my library (after being on the wait list all summer!):
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I read a lot of middle grade books this summer with my 9year old. which, by august, had really put me off reading. there were lots that he truly loved, but left me wondering why... I think it just boiled down to not being the target audience.

i'll have to re-grab Wildwood, Nikki. I had that series on the burner for most of the summer but ended up re-shelving them after what felt like ODing on middle grade genre.

I also started Armada... but my tolerance was pretty low and just stopped. so disappointing as I liked RPO. I don't think i'll pick it back up after what you've all said.

Recently Read : [the highlights]

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loads of fun... 4 stars

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great adventure... 4 stars

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I grabbed these last week to try and jump start my reading for fall. they did just the trick and were pretty enjoyable. after 6 weeks of surviving middlegradetopia these proved to be a wonderful little oasis... 4 stars [although, normally I might have went with 3]

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just finished this one and really enjoyed it! 4 stars ... the writing is so good!

Currently reading :

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only a 1/3 of the way through so far and am totally loooooving it. sososo good.

Recently finished ...

Armada by Ernest Cline - Eh, I knew it was going to be hard to live up to Ready Player One, so I was prepared for a let down. Everything was just so unbelievable and a mash-up of every popular sci-fi book/film. It seems like Cline knew this because his characters kept saying, "I can't believe this is happening. It's like being in a sci-fi novel." Which of course, they are and Cline references the entire sci-fi cannon during the course of the book, so perhaps it is all tougue-and-cheek, but I couldn't buy in.
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Enjoyed this psychological thriller.
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All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie - Good detective novel, exactly what you'd expect from this author.
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Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards - I cannot imagine anyone acting the way the main character acts.
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Sycamore Row by John Grisham - Typical Grisham, so no surprises here, but the characters and issues were intriguing to me.
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I'm right between books, so not clue what I'll pick up next. Library time.

ETA: So after looking through this thread, I'm going with this one next. Thanks Loni! :)

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I'm finally able to sit and read again (and it's not a college book!) I'm currently reading the 4th book in the Outlander series, Drums of Autumn. This series is taking me forever and I've started and stopped it a million times. It's currently in a good point, so maybe I'll stick it out and finish this book!
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Next on my list is one that everyone but me has read. I'm looking forward to it and haven't seen the movie.
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I really enjoyed this one. Liked the story and the characters - it was a nice quick read. The ending had an unexpected twist...or maybe two!!
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I hated this book! I didn't know it was about teenage suicide. It took me nearly two weeks to plug through it but I made myself keep going.
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I have a few pages left in The Red Queen! My daughter absolutely loves it - we're reading it at the same time so it is fun. We keep texting each other saying what has happened.
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I just picked up Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and The Book Thief since they were $1.99 at Amazon today. Good thing I checked my wish list.:thumbup:

Not sure what I'm going to read next.

On Tuesday I get to hear the Author of The Martian speak! I'm so excited I'm counting down the days.

I really enjoyed The Red Queen, I hope we don't have to wait too long for the sequel!!

Jen - I just finished the book this morning!! Dang - I can't wait either.