JUNE READS

[rapa]

"And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days." said James Russell Lowell.

My response is "A sunny day in Texas!"......and thank goodness on this June 1 it will be!

I've started reading Jeffery Deaver's new release SOLITUDE CREEK. What are you reading?

[Mandy Muffin]

I picked up the picture on the Wiki site for him.  I expect it is.  I need to find out exactly where it is when I go to Bangor this summer so I take a picture of my own.  He also has another home in Maine and winter home in Sarasota. I expect he can afford it as his net worth is listed at about 500 million.  Not bad for writing scary stories. 

[Slopok]

Just finished The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi. I saw a teaser on a NPR site that said; "What if the drought in Southern California and the southwest doesn't end?" and mentioned this book as one scenario. If things happen as they do in the book, we are in for big trouble. I think this is another "over the top" catastrophe story. I did enjoy the book, Amazon gave it a 4 star, I 'll give it a 3.7.

 The American Southwest has been decimated by drought. Nevada and Arizona skirmish over dwindling shares of the Colorado River, while California watches, deciding if it should just take the whole river all for itself. Into the fray steps Las Vegas water knife Angel Velasquez. Detective, assassin, and spy, Angel “cuts” water for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and its boss, Catherine Case, ensuring that her lush, luxurious arcology developments can bloom in the desert and that anyone who challenges her is left in the gutted-suburban dust.

When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in Phoenix, Angel is sent to investigate. With a wallet full of identities and a tricked-out Tesla, Angel arrows south, hunting for answers that seem to evaporate as the heat index soars and the landscape becomes more and more oppressive. There, Angel encounters Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist, who knows far more about Phoenix’s water secrets than she admits, and Maria Villarosa, a young Texas migrant, who dreams of escaping north to those places where water still falls from the sky.

As bodies begin to pile up and bullets start flying, the three find themselves pawns in a game far bigger, more corrupt, and dirtier than any of them could have imagined. With Phoenix teetering on the verge of collapse and time running out for Angel, Lucy, and Maria, their only hope for survival rests in one another’s hands.  But when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only truth in the desert is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink.

Started A Man Called Ove.

[Mandy Muffin]

I just pick out a free book from Amazon this month as part of my prime membership and was surprised to find it was on the top sellers list.  'The Pines (Wayward Pines)" by Blake Crouch is being made into a major TV Series:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15034320-pines  It was a trilling read which held my attention to the last.  I am currently reading the a Nicholas Evans novel that is also a major movie: "The Longest Ride," which is a great love story, as most of the Evans books have proved to be and turned into major movies.  He tells the tale of an old couple, at the end of their lives, and a young couple, just beginning.  

[Ioruach]

Starting June 13, I will be off the grid for a few days, probably as much as a week. I hope it isn't any longer. As some may know (hi, rapa) I am moving into a senior apartment complex a couple miles from here. After my wife passed away, the writing was on the wall; I no longer wanted to maintain a single family house. So off to senior housing I go.

One undesirable part of getting everything ready to move I am finding out, is having so little time for my favorite activity: reading. I am struggling to finish Season of Fear by Brian Freeman before the due date; rapa recommended Plainsong by Kent Haruf, which I checked out but haven't started. Then a couple days ago, the library called saying that two books I had reserved a few weeks ago were in. I am overwhelmed with riches.

A big plus in the whole affair, though: Once I am settled in the senior apartment, I should have plenty of time to read.

[rapa]

Wishing you a smooth move as you feather your new nest! Let us know when you get settled in and back on-line.

[grammyk]

Hope your move is going well and that you're settling in comfortably, Loruach!  And happy reading!

[Carolyn Tewell]

SOOOO....anyone remember John Grisham's "The Firm."

Well, I am listening on Audio to Joseph Finder's...THE FIXER. I have listened to a couple of his previous books...one was "Meh." One was very good. This one is "Can't put down!" Now I am about 2/3 way through so it could all fall apart but for the moment...and I even took a 2 mile walk just to have a reason to listen rather than sit and read or watch TV!!! My Fitbit nods in approval! Lol

Our hero is not a Lawyer...but a Journalist who was living the "high life" in Boston while working for a really cool Magazine. And of course the print world has changed which meant lay-offs and now he has had to move back to his Father's house.

Dad had a stoke and is a Nursing Home. He was a lawyer who was involved with the dark side of society...the results are revealed in the home. THE CHASE IS ON!!! What a ride! (So far)

Boston is the geographical location.

I will post again in a tomorrow. No way I am going to bed with this unfinished!~Carolyn aka Mellow

[Eaglewoman]

I believe it was Nicholas sparks that wrote The Longest Ride. Our book club read it and 2 weeks ago we went to see the movie. Loved it.Some people just plain don't like Sparks so were pretty sure not to like the movie.

[Mandy Muffin]

This old brain got the two mixed up, Nicholas Evans, of course, wrote "The Horse Whisperers," "The Divide" and stuff like that, most of which takes place in Montana, while Nicholas Sparks wrote "the Notebook" and a whole slew of books that take place in North Carolina.  I just put it down tonight and was surprised at the ending, which is a very unusual.  I love both writers and have read nearly all their titles over the years. i can't imagine anyone who doesn't like Sparks, unless they don't like the State of North Carolina. I plan on watching the movies as soon as I can get a copy to play at home.  I see it stars Alan Alda, an old favorite of mine. 

[Eaglewoman]

Alan Alda was great in the movie.

[Carolyn Tewell]

LORUACH...Meant to make a comment on your move. Hope it is smooth and you can be flexible enough to embrace the new surroundings. We downsized last year and some things about our new Ranch are frustrating but other things are much more convenient. Always a compromise. But I applaud your willingness to make the decision to move forward. (Punny)

Finished "THE FIXER" at 3:30AM Sunday morning! Enjoyed it to the MAX!!!

Nelson Demille is in da'house! My DH is listening. He doesn't seem thrilled with it but I am up next and hope it is more my style. Demille's last book was too "out there" for me to grasp. Something about seeking a mystery in some jungle somewhere??? One of you will correct me I am sure! LOL. The book was #One on USA TODAY book page.

I'm working on the 101 best crime mysteries! Details to follow...probably take me the balance of 2015 to sort through.~mellow-Carolyn

[Carci]

Finished 2 good books recently:  The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood was set in a small town in England. Very compelling storytelling as chapter by chapter we learn what happened 25 years earlier...

"On a fateful summer morning in 1986, two eleven-year-old girls meet for the first time. By the end of the day, they will both be charged with murder. Twenty-five years later, journalist Kirsty Lindsay is reporting on a series of sickening attacks on young female tourists in a seaside vacation town when her investigation leads her to interview carnival cleaner Amber Gordon. For Kirsty and Amber, it's the first time they've seen each other since that dark day so many years ago. Now with new, vastly different lives - and unknowing families to protect - will they really be able to keep their wicked secret hidden?
            Gripping and fast-paced, with an ending that will stay with you long after you've read it," 

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The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley was reminiscent of a Jodi Picoult novel. How far will you bend your moral principles to protect your innocent child from harm.

Tyler is 14 years old with XP, a rare disease that keeps him indoors until after dark each day to avoid UV rays from the sun, claiming most of its victims before they reach adulthood.  His mother, Eve, has turned there home into a fortress of darkness to protect him.  But when tragedy strikes their neighborhood, Eve must make a difficult choice if she want to continue to protect him...  very fast paced & hard to put down.  I finished it in less than 2 days..