Finished Deep Water by Patricia Highmsith yesterday. Though I admit I skimmed through the last ten pages Was kinda disappointed with the ending

The Priory of the Orange Tree- On pause

This book is boring AF. I spent almost 3 hours listening to the audio book yesterday. Instead of continuing to waste my time and or resorting to You Tube and all the crap that contains, I listened to a book called Love at First Psych. It's a rom com that ends as all rom coms do, but it was only a couple of hours long and was entertaining.

I also have the physical version of this The Priory of the Orange Tree. I haven't tried reading the physical version, yet. I can't decide if the book is actually boring or if it is the narrator of the audio book version that is making it boring. The person reads in a very monotone voice so every character sounds the same.

Whether I get through this or not, I'm not buying the second book. If I never speak of this book again, it means it was DNF'd and donated.

I am currently working my way through a set of volumes given to my late father for his birthday in 1938. Having always been kept in the box they were delivered in, they are in near perfect condition, although inevitably a little yellowed with age. But I do love the smell of old books! Each of them contains fifty short stories on different themes, written by some very famous authors. But the volume I'm presently reading is "Fifty Amazing Stories of the Great War" (or World War 1. as we now call it). It is a fascinating collection, for the stories are all eye witness accounts by people who were actually there: soldiers, sailors, air men, nurses, ambulance drivers, even spies. Some are accounts by high ranking officers, some by ordinary soldiers and civilians.

This book tells it how it was, pulling no punches. It is all in there: the mud, the blood, the stench of death, the horror of gas attacks and of relentless bombardments; the abominable and useless waste of lives in those futile charges across no man's land. But there is also the courage and the heroism, the comradeship, and even humour in the midst of so much death and privation.

I wonder how many other copies of this book still exist. I don't expect, even if rare, that they are particularly valuable in money terms. But, as with all books, their true value lies in what they have to say. And each one of them ought to be kept and treasured by their owners, so that these brave men and women and their stories will never be forgotten. Along with all those thousands who did not survive to tell their stories.

I recently read Lisa Jewell's book "Then She Was Gone" (thanks to @Bigsimsfan12 )
I liked the book, but kept trying to figure out how it would end. Unfortunately it lacked a good plot twist, but the author mentions in her thanks that the whole book was a crazy idea so I guess it might not represent what she usually writes.
Should I read another one?

I just finished Camino Ghosts by John Grisham, which is on par with his other recent stuff: it's an okay enough way to spend time, but not impressive.

Oooh I've not read that one. Did you figure out how it would end? Since you said it wasn't a good plot twist. I always try and work out the ending but I hate when I'm right

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker

This is the first audio book I've listened to that came with a trigger warning. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into; I guess I'll be finding out.

I always like to go back to read the diary of a wimpy kid series. I wish the hardcover ones werent so expensive though

I just finished "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes. It was a beautiful haunting book that will probably stay with me for a long time. I won't spoil the ending, but I feel like, as someone who works with people with acquired disabilities, I now have a deeper understanding of quality of life. I worked with someone in a similar situation as Will, I was his main carer since a lot of other staff found him "challenging". He would always tell me of all his travels, everything he'd seen and done and been, and it only occurs to me now the depth of his pain since he became completely paralysed. He passed naturally a number of years ago. I think it was my hardest patient death and I still tear up when I think of him, but I like to think he's at peace now.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Somewhere between science fiction and fantasy; highly praised by critics. I am roughly at the middle, still not sure whether I like it or not; it is certainly very well written.

ETA - Finished it; not really good. Too obviously constructed, with a deus ex machina ending. The ending could be much better, given all the complications agglomerated before it, but she missed it. Just wanted to finish it ASAP, I guess.

I Do Not Bid Farewell by Han Kang
I'm almost done with it and I really enjoy it. It's quite sad because it refers to some heartbreaking events that actually took place in South Korea on Jeju Island years ago and how it still has impact on people. Books like this make you question humanity but also help you appreciate your own life

I'm reading now "The Jealousy Man and Other Stories" by Jo Nesbo in my native language, which is polish.

I broke my ankle and my wrist in Jan, so did a lot of reading - these are 3 books I thought were especially good
1) The Adversary by Michael Crummey He’s a fantastic writer and writes historical fiction about Newfoundland. This book is about a feud between a brother and sister that impacts many lives and gets pretty crazy
2) Encounter with an Angry God by Carobeth Laird. She married a man John Harrington who was an ethnographer, trying to preserve as many Native American languages as he could - he was also a jerk and treated her horribly.. Her own work focussed on the cultures and traditions of different tribal peoples She wrote this book when she was 70 about their life together, their split and her remarriage and life after. Great read.
3) A Voice Through a Cloud by Denton Welch. This was written after he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle about the time he spent in various hospitals and nursing homes. Wonderful writer

Just started reading another book by Robin Cook. Looks like its called Godplayer in English which is a very dramatic title compared to what its called in the language I'm reading it in

Yes and no, the ending wasn't so dramatic as I thought it was going to be, but neither was it obvious from the start. If you read it, tell me what you think




I read them from time to time as well, but I borrow them from the library. Here in Sweden, there are quite a few copies of the first books still in circulation


So, I'm currently reading Dawn by Virgina Andrews. Most libraries seem to have withdrawn her books and I found this one in a cabinet for books out on the street, where anyone can leave their old books and take a new one (I don't know the fancy name for it). It didn't have the papercover so there was no back cover text and I had no idea about the story inside.
It started off quite okay, about a girl who moving around a lot and shares a room with her somewhat older brother. They get a little sister and start at a nice school where they feel a bit out of place. During the first hundred pages, not much really happens and when I started to wonder if the rest of the book would be a bit dull, the twist comes. (Maybe I should have known that if I had read the back cover!)
Now it has turned in to this horrible story which makes me wonder if I really want to read it everytime I open the book. But I should've known, Virigina Andrews does not write feelgood and is best known for the novel "Flowers in the attic", about four siblings locked away in the attic by their horrible grandmother, while their mother lives a life of luxury in the big house below them.

I am reading Fruits Basket, and I love Hatori the doctor in the manga.

Bigsimsfan12 : I watched the 'Me Before You' film, and I loved it with Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. It was very sad, and they have beautiful chemistry.

1984

Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy

My Best Friend's Exorcism: Grady Hendrix

I almost passed on this after reading "How to Sell a Haunted House. Pumpkin! Pumpkin! Pumpkin! Oiy!

The Boy asked me what I was reading yesterday. When I told him that I almost didn't read this current book because of Pumpkin, he thought it would be funny if I lost my shit if he bought home a actual pumpkin. How rude! No, actual pumpkins don't bother me. It was the character in the book that got under my skin.

Anywho, this book isn't like that, so I'll finish it. Since it is October, my next read will be House Witch. I don't think I'll finish up the books I have left in my bookcase as I keep getting distracted with audiobooks, but I'm going to try. It would be nice the start the new year with a almost empty bookcase. I'm only keeping my favorites and donating the rest.

Came here to say I'm just finishing 1984.

I liked the idea of the book, but I constantly find myself zoning out while reading it and having to re-read. I'm on page 204 and it's an almost page-long block of text, I'm finding it tedious.

Currently reading "the zombie survival guide" by Max Brooks, in case my sims start to plot against me.
Not sure how I feel about the book, I bought it over ten years ago and haven't taken the time to read it until now. I suspect that I mostly read it because I don't know what I want to read, just as I recently did with "the neverending story" (which I actually read once as a child).

The Luminaries: Susan Dennard

This one has been sitting on my TBR list for over a year.

I have 11 books left on my TBR for the year. This finishing all the books I had in my bookcase seemed impossible when I gave myself the task of doing, now it doesn't seem so bad. The only 'bricks' for books I have are For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn which is 624 pages and The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon which is 558 pages before it gets into the epilogue.

The 'bricks' will be saved for last.

The Bone Season: Samantha Shannon

This is the second time I've tried reading something by this author. Apparently she isn't for me because I'm just as bored this time around as I was when I tried to read The Priory of the Orange Tree.

To see if it was just me not getting what the big deal was about The Priory of the Orange Tree, I had Dingus read it as he can read pretty much anything without complaint. He didn't get 100 pages into The Priory of the Orange Tree and gave up for the same reasons I did.

The last and final book from the bookcase is The Book Thief. Maybe that will be done by the weekend, then I'm free to read whatever. I've always had the option, but clearing the bookcase was my priority and I've done it.

Omg THAT part! Idk what orwell thought he was doing by inserting a text the length of the bible in his book! I found it insightful, yet soooo boring it literally took me a week to finish that bit.