28 thoughts on “Reader Friday: What Are You Reading?

  1. Having just last night finished Candice Millard’s _River of Doubt_ about Roosevelt’s Amazon exploration, I started Amor Towle’s _The Lincoln Highway_, and while it’s a bit early to tell, I think the next one will be Janet Conant’s _The Irregulars – Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington_.

    While not far into it (obviously), I find Towle’s lack of quotation marks mildly distracting – but not enough to quit reading.

    His earlier _A Gentleman in Moscow_ was/is a good read.

  2. For Book Club: “When Will There Be Good News?” by Kate Atkinson. (I’m still waiting)
    For me: “Gone Too Far” by Debra Webb
    Mostly, though, I’m reading the proof copy of “In the Crosshairs” for the final pass.
    I gave up on a book–don’t recall the author or title–for the use of dashes to indicate the start of dialogue, and nothing to indicate the end. Nothing resembling a tag or a beat. I don’t want to work that hard.

  3. Just finished Reading Debbie Burke’s yet to be published 7th book before Christmas. It’s really great. Just got into “The Institution” by Stephen King.

  4. Just finished LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE by Elaine Viets. Just started DRAGON RIPPER Another look at Jack the Ripper/Sherlock Holmes.

  5. Right now I’m reading Nick and Greg, the first in a short series by a British author John Roman Baker. After that I’m considering starting the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, but that’s a daunting task. I might just go with a tried and true book to relax with.

  6. I’m between books. I have no idea what I’ll read next, but my Nook and Kindle Reader have lots of book. What I just finished is a bit away from my tastes, but, heck, it was a sweet Christmas story about books and community. You can probably find it at your public library. It’s that kind of book.

    THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHOP, Jenny Colgan. Mainstream. Carmen, a shop girl, loses her job when her department store shuts down. Her sister, the lawyer, finds her a job running a failing bookstore in Edinburgh owned by an elderly man more interested in reading books than selling them. Carmen must not only come to terms with her relationship with her perfectionist sister but her own worth. A lovely story about finding yourself and finding others.

  7. *Looks at sideboard* The Apollo Murders by Chris Hatfield, Renegades (Born in the USA) by Barak Obama & Bruce Springsteen, Island Eats (Signature Chef’s Recipes from Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea) by Dawn Postnikoff & Joanne Sasvari, and Orca (Shared Waters, Shared Home) by Lynda Mapes. All dumped on me for Christmas 🙂

  8. Fiction: I’m currently finishing up our very own Kay DiBianca’s Time After Tyme*, The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler. Non-fiction: Be Your Own Detective/ the 1989 edition (perfect for my 1980s mysteries) and JSB’s How to Write Dazzling Dialogue, which I first read way back in 2014. This time, I’m really working through the book.

    *I’m really enjoying Kay’s latest novel.

    Next up for fiction: The Case of the Velvet Claws the first of Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason novels.
    Non-fiction: Seth Godin’s The Practice

  9. Just started a novel by Erin Bartels called The Words Between Us. I love her writing is beautiful – as in, “I want to write like her when I grow up.”

    In non-fiction I just started re-reading C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity.

  10. In For A Pound by Richard Marinick.

    Next up Lonesome Animals by Bruce Holbert

  11. I’m reading only Oscar nominated scripts this month: My notes so far: [Q = page where I quit]
    ? Spencer: Q Pg 11: Nothing much has happened.
    ? Lost Daughter: Strange. Many flashbacks. Sux.
    ? Jockey: Q Pg 7: Nothing happening. Boring.
    ? Hero: Q Pg 50, got bored. Skimmed 54 pgs. Contrived.
    ? Rico: Desi & Lucy. Bored, Q Pg 1
    ? Spririt Untamed: Horse & circus & ? Set aside @ Pg 1; go on later
    ? Harder They Fall, “Eleanor FLIES BACKWARDS and hits the wall.”–Awful.
    ? Stillwater: Boring, Q Pg 10 159 pages!
    ? Last Night in Soho: SANDIE JACK JOHN ELLIE PEGGY Weirdy. Skips around in time. Q Pg 52/116 Odd
    ? The Humans: Q Pg 9/111, but well written. Adapted Stage Play. GOOD, finish later
    ? Belfast: Irish conflict 60’s Well written, much action. finish later
    ? Tick Tick Boom: a musical. Sondheim, it ain’t. Flips time constantly. Fugeddaboudit
    ? Swan Song: Interesting! Fascinating! finish later
    ? The Mitchells: Hmm. 154 pages?? lots of action. Slap-stick. Sophomoric dialogue. Maybe.
    ? The Card Counter: not much action, but still looks ok. finish later.
    ? Invasion: A grabber. Q Page 17, but FINISH LATER
    ? Coda: Deaf people; Q Pg 26, but I like it. Characters.
    ? The Boss Baby Family: Ted, Tim, Tina, Tabitha, Triplets, Hideously moronic.Q Pg 13
    ? Dune: Hard to put down WINNER finish later
    ? The Tomorrow War: Engrossing READ MORE
    ? Tenderbar: to be read
    ? Annette: repetitive, rap, unfunny, hijjus Q Pg 11 SHIT
    ? The Electrical Life: to be read
    ? Mass: Tedious. Drama. Talking heads. Q Pg 55
    ? Red Rocket: 2-long dialog-heavy scene, bad, repetitive. Only needed a door slam or two. Cat got out. No rocket, this.
    ? Passing: Good concept, but cliche redneck strawman, Q Pg 18. May win award based on concept, not execution.

  12. I have 4 books on my bedside table:
    * Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson and Candice Fox
    * The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly
    * Wild Place by Christian White
    * The One Impossible Labyrinth by Matthew Reilly
    All favourite authors, especially Michael Connelly, so very happy with this pile.

  13. I have vowed to come out of lurker mode this year. Hi! I’m reading Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and enjoying my front row seat into the life and times of Cromwell and his interactions with both friend and foe. Also Lui Cixin’s Three Body Problem in which I’m getting a crash course on the Chinese cultural revolution, physics, and some really strange aliens. Next up is Great Passage by Shion Miura and James Rollins Starless Crown.

    • Hi Robin! Welcome and welcome to TKZ commenting. Nice to have you come out of lurker mode, and I feel safe saying from the regular contributors that we’d like to hear more from you and others who follow but stay silent. Interesting and diverse list you’ve posted. Those really strange aliens – love to hear more about them 🙂

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