SEPTEMBER READS

[rapa]

As we head toward fall are you anticipating some good reads?  I'm next on the reserve list for Louise Penny's new book.  YAY!

Am currently trying to get through C. J. Box's stand alone THE HIGHWAY. I'm not enjoying the read as much as his Joe Pickett series.

[Flowergram]

Sorry Carolyn - I have been busy cleaning up the yard for fall.  We are in a dry (they say it is not a drought in the paper today) but what do you call 33 days without real rain?  I am currently finishing up Stephen  White's book - Blinded.  Have 2 waiting at the library tomorrow to pick up and I cannot remember what I ordered.  Will be a nice surprise.  Sorry you are getting so many you do not want to finish.  Hope you find a bunch at the sale.  I love all your comments and do read them.  It is so hot and humid today that I won't be out mowing or weeding at all.  Keep the good words coming.

[Glenda Scheideler]

I just discovered Steven White - great to hear his name.  When I discovered he had 20 books out on Alan Gregory, I went to book one and listened on Audible and I liked it, so I bought book 2 -- also on tape.  I found 5 more of his books at a used book store. They smell a little funny, but the price was right :)  So, I am set up for a while.  Does this series stand up to reading over the long run?  I hope so!  I drive myself crazy following authors that make me wait for their next book!  (Louise Penney, Baldacci, Reacher, Tami Hoag, and on and on.)

[Flowergram]

I have read most of his books and have liked them all.  I get mine from the library most of the time.  I heard he just finished the Alan Gregory series with his last book, do not know if he is retiring or not but loved the Colorado background he had in his stories.  

[grammyk]

Hi Carolyn!  I'm still here, dividing my time these days between home (granddaughter's cheerleading and, unfortunately, still work!) and your area - Ohio - for grandsons' football games.  I have managed to fit in some reading, though - "Visitation Street", by Ivy Pochoda, "Sisterland", by Curtis Sittenfeld, "The Lemon Orchard", by Luanne Rice - liked all of them but have to say that "The Lemon Orchard" was a favorite.  I also just finished "The Company You Keep", by Neil Gordon; I saw comments about it in this group and have to thank whoever suggested it because it was great!  I am about to start on "Dirty Wars" by Jeremy Scahill - about the drone wars; it's a big book and looks like pretty heavy reading so will probably need to "break it up" with some lighter books/magazines.  I am SO looking forward to retirement in a few years so I can just divide my time between grandkids and reading!

[Thomas William Farquhar vii BA]

I recently started reading the PC Cast books, both The Goddess Summoning" and "The School of Night" series.  I like to try to read at least one author a month whose books I have never previously read.  The local library and the BookBazaar reader make it easy for me to do this.

[Ursula]

Didn't realize I hadn't added my 2 cents worth to this post!!

I finally finished reading Bart Ehrman's Did Jesus Exist? and decided to try a new-to-me author that several friends had recommended.  Alan Furst writes historical mysteries set in the WWII era.  I chose The Polish Officer in honor of my maternal heritage, but after making a valiant try (100+ pages), I gave up.  I just couldn't work up any empathy for the main character as he worked his way through the war as a spy behind Nazi lines.  Disappointing!!

So then I read Louise Penny's newest book, How The Light Gets In.  I read it in less than 24 hours; no problem with this story and these characters, but then they are  old friends.

Now I'm reading Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller; what can I say, except I'm a big fan and she doesn't disappoint.  A sentiment I discovered my BFF doesn't share.  Oh well, that' why there are so many successful authors....different strokes for different folks.

[Ioruach]

I just finished Unleashed by David Rosenfelt.  I enjoyed it but perhaps not so much as most of his others.

I am now reading Lehrter Station by David Downing.  Downing is probably best known for his “station series” novels, all of which are named after train stations, mostly located in Berlin. I previously read Zoo Station and liked it very much.  The books are basically spy novels, centered  primarily in Berlin during WW II and the post war period.  I suppose I am partial to these books because I was stationed in Berlin during my Air Force years in the mid-1950s.  But I am finding them to be well written and, of course, am pleased to see that opinion supported by Goodreads, which gives all of them four of five stars.  

[Carci]

Finished The Highway this morning and glad to be done with it...  felt like I was rolling around in a sewer through much of this book.  I only finished it to see if the girls made it out alive...  too much slime & violence in this one & it also had a rotten ending IMHO. Sorry I read it.  I have always loved his other books so that also kept me reading.

Not recommended!

[Carolyn Tewell]

Carci - thanks for the critique on "The Highway" - I mention before - started the Audiobook - and felt it was too grim -had got through 4 discs - then almost grabbed it last night since I'm out of new stuff - glad I read your post - decided on "Unintended Consequences" ~Stuart Woods - which my DH is listening - and not going to waste my time on the Highway. 

Lorouch - I have that Rosenfelt book tagged as a "maybe" - sometimes he is so very good - and other times I'm underwhelmed.

Ursula - Picoult is so popular - I keep thinking her stuff is for young readers?  I'll dig around...see if she has a story line that I can relate to.

 

[Ursula]

Carolyn, although some of Jodi Picoult's books could be read by young adults I don't see them as her target audience.  She chooses a different social issue for each of her books and then develops a story around that issue, usually with great insight and a surprise ending.  She has written about domestic violence in Picture Perfect, the Columbine scenario in Nineteen Minutes, autism/Asperbergers Syndrome in House Rules, and so on and so forth.  She often shows us that life is not as it seems.

As I recently discovered, she's not for everyone, but I do enjoy her books.

[Carci]

Carolyn, If you'd like I can private message you The Highway ending so there will be no spoilers if others here want to read it.

I agree with Ursula that Jodi Picoult is not a YA author altho my 18 yr. old granddaughter does love her books.  I find them very thought provoking and she always offers some fresh insight into the social issue/moral dilemma that a particular book revolves around. I've enjoyed every one of hers that I have read.

I'm now reading Let It Burn by Steve Hamilton.  I enjoy his Alex McKnight series which is mostly set in the upper Michigan peninsula, altho this one gets him down to Detroit.

[Carolyn Tewell]

Carci - I would love to...um, er, uh...would be interested in the conclusion of Highway - 

Also - "Let It Burn" - big, big fan of Steve Hamilton!  Dan'l and I when camping we bring along a CD player with speakers and listen to the mystery while staring at a campfire!  Double the pleasure!  I'll check and see if I have a "hold" at Library for this Title.