Books #43

[AllieBee]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?):

73/104 read
I am 22 books ahead of target so thats good

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):

Not tracked

Favourite read so far:

Without a doubt In Memoriam by Alice Winn. This book reeled me in, chewed me up, made me cry, and spat me out a book hungover mess at the end.

Least favourite read so far:

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham. Came highly recommended as a fantastic book by someone (irl not here). It was absolutely, hellishly dire.


Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):

One of Us ny Elizabeth Day. Its about the corruption in politics and I absolutely loved it.

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December:

Dissection of a Murder plus Lisa Jewell's new book. Also Count of Monte Cristo. I also want to read JK Rowlings The Running Grave and The Hallmarked Man


Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds?:

overall, apart from June where I had quite a lot of duds, its been a pretty good year, and Ive enjoyed most of what Ive read.

Heres to the next 6 months guys!

 

[SaintLeo]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?): 32 of my standard 50 target so 7 books ahead. Last year I read 60 which was my highest total since I started tracking so slight short of that!

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track): 12,840 pages read according to StoryGraph.

Favourite read so far: Ordinary Time by Cathy Rentzenbrick, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai and The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. All recommendations from this thread I think!

Least favourite read so far: The God of Small Things - expected lots after seeing it on so many top 100 lists but it was style over substance for me. Honourable mention to Theo of Golden which started well but turned into overly sentimental tripe!

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad): The Women by Kristen Hannah. I’m not usually a fan of her books but bowed to peer pressure to read the is one and liked it much more than I expected to. (I still think she heaps too much tragedy on her characters though for the sake of creating a plot line!)

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December: Nothing specific. I have Introducing Mrs Collins on my TBR which I will pick up soon. Live anything Jane Austen adjacent.

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds? A couple I’ve really enjoyed (mentioned above) the rest have been average. Nothing that was a complete disaster!

 

[daisynoon]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?):
105 books - I set myself a target of 75 so I made it comfortably! Includes four rereads

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):
35,933 pages

Favourite read so far:
Not sure! Maybe since it's favourite over best, Cat Sebastian's Star Shipped, which came along at the right time and kickstarted my reading again.

Least favourite read so far:
Block Shot by Kenmedy Ryan, which I hated so much I ditched it midway

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):
I realised I had absolutely no idea what either Giovanni's Room or A Passage to India were about, despite seeing the titles often

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December:
Maggie O'Farrell's Land and Ann Patchett's Whistler

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds?:
I have really enjoyed most of my reading this year! Haven't been able to stick with anything that hasn't engaged me, though

 

[Also_smoke_and_mirrors]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?):
9 - I've gone from only reading 1 book last year so I'm very pleased with that.
My reading mojo is back!

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):
3,527 pages

Favourite read so far:
Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray

Least favourite read so far:
Tourist season by Brynne Weaver

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):
Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
I presumed YA was going to be simplistic and childish. Second favourite book of the year so far. Loved it!

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December:
Prodect Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds?:
Two 5 star books so far this year. No DNFs yet.

 

[SaintLeo]

On an ENTIRELY UNRELATED matter, hypothetical actually, is Book Lovers worth reading (for 99cent)??

Yes, especially for 99p/c. I am an Em Hen fan so would always say yes. Book Lovers wasn’t one of my favourites of hers but still worth a look.

 

[Hannahebee]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?):
I didn't set myself a target.

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):
Not tracked

Favourite read so far:
Whose Life Is It Anyway by Sinead Moriarty, The Hollywood Governess by Alexandra Weston and Death Among The Diamonds by Fliss Chester

Least favourite read so far:
Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Melissa Hill

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):
Three Women of Liverpool by Helen Forrester went in with high expectations but it just lacked something.

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December:
Books that are part of a series.

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds:
A mixture of both good and bad reads.

 

[Booklover]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?):
15

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):
?

Favourite read so far:
Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell
The Names by Florence Knapp

Least favourite read so far:
Normally love Louise Candlish's books. But A Neighbours Guide to Murder was only a 3* for me.

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):
See above.

Books you're looking forward to read between July-December:
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout obvs!!
The Homemade God - Rachel Joyce

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds?:
This year hasn't been as much of a 5* year as last. No duds as such. I've got some really good ones lined up.

 

[QueenBW]

Yeah it is (as in summery setting and lots of hazy beach days type thing) It’s the third in that series, though you can definitely read it without having read the first two.
If you mean summery light read, then I’d say it’s got a few dark moments like her other books, but I found it was more than engaging enough for me to want to read more!

I’ve bought book lovers by Emily Henry and the someday garden by Ashley Poston this morning. Tempted by the night we met by Abby jiminez too - all authors I’ve read and liked. There’s a Lauren Asher book on the 99p deals as well so may consider that.

I've read the other two and love them and yeah meant the setting not so much the tone. Will get to it this month!

 

[QueenBW]

Nonfiction is really saving my ratings. My fiction lately has been kinda mediocre for the most part. My fault for trying those Amazon Original short stories too.

 

[Kerrie86]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?):
I’ve read 31 of 52, six books ahead of schedule
Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):

Favourite read so far:
I’m torn between Atmosphere and Into The Blue. I think Into The Blue would have to take it but I love the ending of them both. That sort of feeling where you think you know how it’ll end but my heart was in my throat.

Least favourite read so far:
Got to be Wild Love by Elsie Silver. I’ve got the second book in the series but can’t bring myself to start it. It took me a month to finish it because I just rolled my eyes every second page.

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):
The Shadow of the wind I think, it had been on my kindle for years and just seemed so dusty but I really enjoyed it!

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December:
Grim Tidings by BK Borison. It won’t be as good as Good Spirits but god I’ve got high hopes

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds?:
I feel like it’s been more duds than ones I’ve loved. Of the ones where I’d say ‘oh I liked that’ if it came up in conversation with a friend, I think there’s only eight.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

My June reads

A really mixed month, with more lows than highs.

5 stars:

The Hearts invisible Furies - John Boyne. Reread because picked it up from library thinking i hadnt read it. No matter, it was as beautiful 2nd time around.

In Memoriam - Alice Winn. Absolutely beautiful, the best book I have read this year. I thought she writes really cleverly, turning the blood, gore and senseless waste of life of war into a beautiful love story.

A Family Matter - Claire Lynch. A short book, but really good. Historically based on just how badly young gay mums were treated by the courts when trying to get custody of their children and the lasting damage to them. Hard to imagine that happening at all let alone as recently as 40 years ago.

4 stars:

Barbecue at no. 9 - Jennie Godfrey. I didnt like this as much as The List of Suspicious Things but still a good read.

Watching You - Lisa Jewell. Love Lisa Jewell though I dont think her back catalogue is as good as her more recent books.

All the rest - a bit meh.

Worst book:

Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin. I love a good police procedural but this was awful.

I've got Barbecue on my reads for this month.
Will be interesting if I have the same opinion on Barbecue as I loved The List book.

 

[Harlot O'Scara]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?):
32 out of 60, so far, which is 3 ahead of schedule according to Goodreads.

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):
11,307

Favourite read so far:
A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts - Andrew Chaikin

Least favourite read so far:
The Lacemaker's Fortune - Andrea Catalano, absolutely terrible & The Witch - Ronald Hutton, dull as dish water

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):
Bad, The Lacemaker's Fortune again. I enjoyed The First Witch of Boston, but this was so poorly written, it was almost hard to believe they were by the same author.

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December:
I don't really keep track of new releases and I just pick from my TBR at random so I have no idea what I'll be reading

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds?:
I've read more 4 & 5 stars than 1s & 2s so I suppose it's been a decent year so far.

 

[lokp0009]

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?):
83 - 34 books ahead of schedule!

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):
32,458

Favourite read so far:
The Rose Petal Beach has been my only five star!

Least favourite read so far:
Lonesome Dove or Hooked

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):
I was so sad about Lonesome Dove. I was expecting great things from reviews in this thread but I could not get on with the writing style and found it a total slog.

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December:
Don’t have anything in particular as I only plan about two books in advance, but I’m hopeful to get a few more five stars this year!

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds?
Only one five star and a few duds.
Most somewhere in the middle - average raging is 3.26

 

[mindlessness]

@Pinkii would love to know your thoughts on Heart the Lover! You might've said in the past and I've forgotten It's on my tbr pile!

 

[mindlessness]

Nonfiction is really saving my ratings. My fiction lately has been kinda mediocre for the most part. My fault for trying those Amazon Original short stories too.

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Love your willingness to go for the absolute 0 stars! I've read one of Tessa Bailey's books and really disliked it

 

[Pinkii]

@Pinkii would love to know your thoughts on Heart the Lover! You might've said in the past and I've forgotten It's on my tbr pile!

Since you’ve still got this on your TBR, I don’t want to get to spoil anything. my main irk will be a spiler just incase but that is my biggest gripe with the story


For me, the characters just kind of drift through the story like they’re too busy being “deep” to actually connect with anyone, including the reader. Their emotions are constantly explained way more than they’re actually felt, so when the big emotional moments finally came around, they fell flat for me. It felt like the writer constantly begging for the reader to “Feel something, pleaseeee.”

the characters are just deeply toxic, and instead of challenging each other or growing, they mostly just bring out the worst in one another. Nobody really changes, reflects, or gets called out for what they do.

The biggest issue for me, though, was the FMC. Her choices just didn’t feel believable—especially when she’s spending so much time with the guy she had a college romance and reminiscing about their 15 min relationship with while he’s dying in hospital, all while her own son is facing life-threatening surgery and thats where she needs to be. I just can’t imagine any mother in that situation choosing to be at an ex-lover’s bedside instead of with her own child, so it all felt really unrealistic and completely pulled me out of the story.

 

[Booklover]

@Pinkii would love to know your thoughts on Heart the Lover! You might've said in the past and I've forgotten It's on my tbr pile!

Currently reading this. Not keen on any of the characters. I don't think I'm going to end up liking it as much as Writers and Lovers.

 

[TheStrawberryThief]

I have started reading the 3rd book in the Mahu Investigations series. The books are set in late 90s/early 2000s and follow a gay detective solving murders in Hawai.

The books started being written around that time, so they feel very much a time capsule of the era. In the first book the mc is outed at work, he loses his job over it and it is so much of a controversy that it is discussed on the local news. It all ends up okay on the end.

I think serious murder mystery fans would probably find the plots to simplistic, but I enjoy the setting and the way the author writes about the culture of the islands and the different people who live there. The mc is very much a dude bro surfer type who spends a lot of the books going surfing or thinking about surfing. I honestly think he spends more time thinking about surfing than the crimes he is trying to solve.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Mid-year review, anyone? This was the one from last year:

How many books have you read (if you set yourself a target are you on track?): 75

Pages Read/Hours listened (if you track):

Favourite read so far:

I forget books once read, as my brain can only hold so much you know

I did remember enjoying the Audrey Slaughters, Jilly Coopers and Beryl Matthews though...

Least favourite read so far:
Frieda McFadden's The Housemaid's Secret

Book that surprised you (can be good or bad):
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
I thought it would be dry, but L A Blonde insisted I'd love it......and she was right

Book you're looking forward to read between July-December:

The new Lucinda Riley from the Atlas (Seven Sisters series).

Anything else? Have you had a lot of 5 star books? Or have you mostly read duds?:

Mostly 5*
The duds do tend to stand out

 

[QueenBW]

Love your willingness to go for the absolute 0 stars! I've read one of Tessa Bailey's books and really disliked it

She truly is a terrible writer. Beats me how she is so popular.