Off-Topic Winter Reading 2023 -2024

[wendug]

Originally Posted by TracyQ

I finished Demon Copperhead. I think maybe my favorite book of 2023. Still deciding that.

Thanks for the recommendation. I ordered this as a Christmas gift for my dad.

[Kathy G]

Originally Posted by toaster

I know I read this years ago, but I just read the description, and it sounded much bleaker than what I remembered!

Yeah, that book stuck with me for a few days. It was bleak, sad, and tragic with moments where you thought things were looking up. There’s actually a Lifetime movie starring Christine Lahti. I found it on You Tube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kfUFTnNAke8

I just finished The Kept Woman which is book eight of the Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter. This book filled in parts of Angie’s life. I liked this one a lot. It didn’t reveal everything at once so it had some shocking, unexpected turns.

I’m 25% through The Last Widow which is book nine. This one is told from multiple points of view. Each character is experiencing the same events but differently. I thought the woman/man POV in the first chapter was amusing. She way over thought what was going on in their relationship while he was just trying to not upset the apple cart, lol. It kind of really brought home that we never really know what’s going on in people’s minds and can make wrong assumptions.

[Rivercat]

Originally Posted by toaster

Posted this earlier on the fall thread:
I'm reading a book about fonts called JUST MY TYPE. I thought it would be quirky and fun like EATS, SHOOTS AND LEAVES, which it is, but I feared it would be boring, which it isn't - I love it!!!

Ooh, I love fonts so this is going on my TBR. Also, congrats on surpassing your challenge!

After inhaling most of Darcy Coates's haunted house books (they aren't great but exactly what I needed during some stressful weeks), I'm continuing the theme with The September House by Carissa Orlando. My hold came in last night.

[TracyQ]

Originally Posted by Kathy G

When you’re ready for another book along that vein, there’s “The Book of Ruth” by Jane Hamilton (if you haven’t read it already). It was an Oprah book club pick many years ago.

Thank you for this recommendation. I haven’t read it and just added it to my wish list.

[TracyQ]

Originally Posted by wendug

Thanks for the recommendation. I ordered this as a Christmas gift for my dad.

I hope he likes it.

[Pat58]

Hi everyone! I've been bogged down in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Since checking in last I've read:

Dark Tower II - the Drawing of the Three. Loved it! Amazing tapestry of writing.

The Waste Lands. Very much enjoyed though it gets a big draggy in spots. For me.

Wizard & Glass. Three stars. It's 672 pages long and has a "book within a book" wherein the hero provides his backstory to his companions in the quest. It was a good story but l-o-n-g, had more characters than I want to keep track of, and the characters speak in a weird medieval meets 1800s Tex/Mex border cowboy speak that could be irritating. I felt like I should be awarded a gold star for finishing it.

It's been funny reading comments on W&G on an FB Stephen King fan page. People tend to love it or dislike it. Those who love it can get offended and snarky toward any negativity, as if they're personally invested in it.

On my Kindle, two mediocre Prime reads:

The Witches Lens (Luanne Smith)
Don't Forget to Write (Sarah Goodman Confino)

I also "finished" Kassandra Reinhardt's (Yoga with Kassandra) I Radiate Joy: Daily Affirmation Cards by posting a review on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...-i-radiate-joy

[Pat58]

Originally Posted by toaster

Happy December! I just realized I have surpassed my reading challenge - my goal was 55 and I'm at 56.

Congratulations! I might not get to my goal of 50; Dark Tower sucked up a lot of reading time.

[toaster]

Originally Posted by Pat58

Hi everyone! I've been bogged down in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Since checking in last I've read:

Dark Tower II - the Drawing of the Three. Loved it! Amazing tapestry of writing.

The Waste Lands. Very much enjoyed though it gets a big draggy in spots. For me.

Wizard & Glass. Three stars. It's 672 pages long and has a "book within a book" wherein the hero provides his backstory to his companions in the quest. It was a good story but l-o-n-g, had more characters than I want to keep track of, and the characters speak in a weird medieval meets 1800s Tex/Mex border cowboy speak that could be irritating. I felt like I should be awarded a gold star for finishing it.

Pat, your analysis is very close to my own! Drawing of the Three is probably by fave of the series. I really enjoyed The Waste Lands too, but agree about it dragging. When I read those 2 way back in the early 1990s, I waited a LONG time (or so it seemed to me then) for Wizard and Glass to be released. When it finally came out, I was disappointed that it went backward rather than moved the story forward, and to be honest, I never really like Susan all that much.

I've thought about re-reading the series, but you are right about the time drain! I'd also like to re-read Stephen R Donaldson's 2-book Mordant's Need series.

Does anyone have special plans for a first book of 2024?

[Pat58]

Beth, I read Stephen's afterward in which he described the delay between books - that was some delay! I wasn't in love with Susan, a/k/a Miss Oh So Young and Beautiful, either. And that Rhea of the Coos was so beyond nauseating.

My first read of 2024 will probably be The Wind Through the Keyhole.

[Erica H.]

Originally Posted by Pat58

Congratulations! I might not get to my goal of 50; Dark Tower sucked up a lot of reading time.

that's what I don't understand about reading goals...books are such different lengths and levels of difficulty to read. The number of books read really doesn't mean much.

Erica