SEPTEMBER READS

[rapa]

GOODBYE AUGUST!!!!

HELLOOOOOOO SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm plenty ready for fall. How 'bout you?

Am currently reading C. J. Box's new stand alone, BADLANDS. It grabs you right from the get-go and doesn't let go! Hope you have something good going and will enjoy these September days.

[Mandy Muffin]

Finishing up "The Nightingale" (Le Rossignol, the family name of the heroines), as the brave women of France resist German occupation in WWII. 

I have "The Nature of the Beast" on ready at the library, the latest Louise Penny.  Another visit to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, where French and English cultures co-exist in perfect harmony. There are no secessionists in this bunch. 

As I had to spend some time at the hospital this week, I took along my Kindle Fire and started, "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman.

And finally, as this is the first of the month, I have to choose a new Amazon Prime free book that comes with my membership.  I just finished up the "Wayward Pines" trilogy last month.  

[Carci]

I finished Badlands last week. It was an intense read and the ending certainly left an opening for his next book.  It was a little too violent for my taste but a good story as usual from C.J. Box.

I followed it with Who Let The Dog Out by David Rosenfelt and it was just what I needed to clear all the violence out of my head.  I was clever and funny and the story line was interesting.  Highly recommended!

Last time at the library I browsed the large print shelves and found a John Grisham I hadn't read yet.   Now I'm about 200 pages into Sycamore Row and it is almost 750 pages in large print so it is a heavy book... lots of courtroom action and a story line that keeps calling me back.

[Carci]

Just finished Sycamore Row...  Wow!  John Grisham can sure weave a tale.  Excellent story with a very satisfying ending.

Almost 750 pages (in large print) and I could have done with a little less trial procedure but I have to say it never got boring.  Has anyone else read this one?

[Carolyn Tewell]

CARCI...Sycamore Row was one of my favorite books. I loved Grishom and then his books became "preachy" and he fell off my reading list. Glad I tried that one however and referred it to a young lawyer cyber pal of our family and he loved it too!

Who Let the Dogs Out...now, I loved the reader who handles Rosenfelts books but was burnt out after the last book I tried. I will give this one a view.

Okay...I pretty much posted so I could get notifications of responses to the Group and have no real books to recommend. Listening to Baldacci's The Escape which I already tried before back in 2014. Bought the Audio for $2 bucks at book sale and it is lulling me to sleep. (Not really a fan)

OH WAIT!!! Library circulates a publication called BOOK PAGE...Guess who is on the cover? Louise Penny! She does a Q&A about her life. I know most of you have all her background story...honestly I have tried to give her stuff a shot....so maybe one more time for THE NATURE OF THE BEAST?

MADAME PENNY says she hates the phrase "Cozy mystery!" Interesting.

[Mandy Muffin]

I have "Nature of the Beast" on my desk right now as my next read. I have read all the Penny book and enjoy the scenery and culture in the Eastern Townships, the French-English area of Quebec, where the loyalists came up from the colonies to settle, while America was fighting for its independence.  Would you believe this is her 11th book in the series?  She did place a book, "A Trick of the Light" (?), in a monastery in northern Quebec area.  She also lives in the Lac Brome area.I spent a week there on vacation a few years back, enjoying the golf courses, lake activity, exquisite food and culture. Also, my French-Canadians ancestors came from this region. Little did I know that Louise Penny, a noted author, would move there and start writing tales of the locals and police folks from Montreal who would become involved in the crime scene. 

[Mandy Muffin]

Finished the book, "The Nature of the Beast," by Louise Penny.  It opens at number 5 on the USA today best seller list, on the first week of its release.  A big theme this time, as "weapons of mass destruction," the Vietnam War, and international arms trafficking all come into play. A note of familiarity, as the story revolves around a town play being put on at the Knowlton Theatre.  I once attend a production of "The Importance of Being Ernest" in that very theater. Again, the unique culture of rural Quebec, blending English and French together, makes the story telling delightful. It's amazing how Louise Penny can swear like a sailor in both languages.   Merde!

 

[Slopok]

Rereading Exodus by Leon Uris. I have forgotten whether I saw the movie or not. I may get the DVD and watch it again or stream it. An informative story.

It has been a busy, busy summer. Now for cool weather,football and cool morning woods walks and maybe collect some venison later on.

[Flowergram]

Just finished Jussi Adler Olsens  The Keeper of Lost Causes - enjoyed this book will read more -  the difference in writers in another country seem to draw me in now.  Just Started Greg Isles - The Quiet Game - hope to get through all of his someday.  Has been a different summer weather wise here. Rainy until mid August then hot and humid in Sept. and now cool with showers.  Hope everyone is well and ready for the seasonal changes. 

[Mandy Muffin]

Finished "If I Stay" by Gale Foreman. http://ifistay.com/ with is an out of body narrative by a high school girl who was in a tragic auto accident in which her mother and father are killed and she is left in a coma.  Well written and an insight into to gifted young musician who has probably lost her future.  She assesses the plus and minuses of death at this young age.  Gripping narrative that is a soon to be released movie. 

I'm in the midst of a "A Wind is not a River" by Brian Peyton.  http://www.amazon.com/The-Wind-Is-Not-River/dp/0062279971 This historical novel examines the often forgotten battle for the Aleutians in WW II.  It was actually a major battle of the War in the Pacific but often ignored by history books who are more interested in Midway, Iwo Jima and the like.  

[Carolyn Tewell]

Quik Trip:

Rejected at 10% read:

The Beautiful Mystery...Louise Penny
The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo (rated best mystery by Goodreads)
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (so now I understand why Rowling writes under different name)

Any thoughts if I should give these another 10% ?

[Mandy Muffin]

--This Louise Penny takes place in a remote monastery in northern Quebec.  I have visited the area and was drawn to the story but the telling assumes you are already familiar with Gamanche and Jean-Guy, police detectives from Montreal. There is also a lot of inside the French Roman Catholic Church stuff going on.  I was educated and taught religion by French Canadian priests and nuns. I attended French-Canadian parochial school for 8 years. 

--You have to get into "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" for the three-story ride.  Lizabeth Salander is probably one of the most unique characters in all of literature.  The original title of the book was "Men Who Hate Women."  As you learn more and more about her, you become fascinated that she is completely amoral and asexual. As you go through the three books, the onion is peeled back and you understand her and why she has become who she is. Perhaps it is worth seeing the movie, the American edition in English is better than the European edition with sub-titles.

I jettisoned "The Silkworm" and read the plot summary in Wiki.  It was really bad, and I have read all the Harry Potters and her last two novels. The only thing I found ironic was that she used the f-word about 200 times in the couple of chapters I reads, plus plenty of other British profanities as well of generous references to all kinds of sexual perversions. Ms. Rowling has developed a dirty pen since her Harry Potter days. 

[Carolyn Tewell]

MANDY...Thanks for your insight on the 3 books I listed.

At the moment I am testing out 4 other books that I will share later this week.