Has anyone read The man who died twice? It’s the follow up to The Thursday murder club. Just started it today and so far I really like it.
Books #5 the book lovers thread!
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I got it from he library but haven’t started it. I didn’t love Thursday, so I’m not in a rush
interested to know how you get on!I’ve read a good few books over the weekend I need to update here
currently reading honeymoon for one by Portia MacIntosh,
It’s a VERY light read but I’m really really enjoying it
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I will update once I’ve read more! So far I think it’s a bit faster paced than Thursday which is good.I got it from he library but haven’t started it. I didn’t love Thursday, so I’m not in a rush
I’ve read a good few books over the weekend I need to update here
currently reading honeymoon for one by Portia MacIntosh,
It’s a VERY light read but I’m really really enjoying it
Thats good to hear! I've just purchased and its been added to the big pile of books that also needs to be read!
I really enjoyed it but was a big fan of Thursday Murder Club
So off on holiday this week. I'm taking the following:
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Reid Jenkins
The Handmaid's Tale
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
The first time Lauren Pailing Died - Alyson Rudd
I aim to do nothing but sunbathe and read! Easy get through 4 books! I hope
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Reid Jenkins
The Handmaid's Tale
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
The first time Lauren Pailing Died - Alyson Rudd
I aim to do nothing but sunbathe and read! Easy get through 4 books! I hope
Sounds amazing!! Where are you off to? I would love to be jetting off to somewhere in the sunSo off on holiday this week. I'm taking the following:
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Reid Jenkins
The Handmaid's Tale
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
The first time Lauren Pailing Died - Alyson Rudd
I aim to do nothing but sunbathe and read! Easy get through 4 books! I hope
Tenerife. Can't wait!Sounds amazing!! Where are you off to? I would love to be jetting off to somewhere in the sun
I love Seven Husbands and Handmaid's Tale, very different books, hope you enjoy them. I've downloaded Piranesi let us know what you think!So off on holiday this week. I'm taking the following:
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Reid Jenkins
The Handmaid's Tale
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
The first time Lauren Pailing Died - Alyson Rudd
I aim to do nothing but sunbathe and read! Easy get through 4 books! I hope
I'm about 90% through 'My Dark Vanessa' by Russell and it's been a very engaging read and I'm enjoying it... as much as you can enjoy a book about grooming
There's something about the way the teacher character is written that makes my skin crawl, and I honestly forgot the huge age difference after the first chapter and the effect remained.
Thing is, I found her really unlikable as a character. Like, I understood a lot of her thought process and scarily related to her way too much but then past the halfway point the book sort of got muddled. It started feeling like the author wrote two of the timelines at different times rather than together so there's some inconsistencies that I cannot wrap my head around a whole lot. And that really just drags her down as a character for me
There's also a weird thing where the author throws in animals that made me wonder if something bad was going to happen to them. Maybe it's just me and how I read it, but it felt like the author trying to 'tease' into the more emotionally-damaging territory which I found really untasteful tbh. Either do it or leave the whole thing alone
Some GoodReads review said that this should have been a novella and I sort of agree even if I did enjoy some of the second half of the book. All of the problems I had with Vanessa's character wouldn't have been so huge to the point where I dislike her
There's something about the way the teacher character is written that makes my skin crawl, and I honestly forgot the huge age difference after the first chapter and the effect remained.
Thing is, I found her really unlikable as a character. Like, I understood a lot of her thought process and scarily related to her way too much but then past the halfway point the book sort of got muddled. It started feeling like the author wrote two of the timelines at different times rather than together so there's some inconsistencies that I cannot wrap my head around a whole lot. And that really just drags her down as a character for me
There are chapters where she's freaked out by the teacher, even calls him a rapist and a paedophile but then returns to the 'present day' where she's still battling to come to that conclusion, refuses to even use those words because she (as she sees it) willingly participated in a lot of what happened (even downplays the very obvious rape where she did say 'no' to him) and it's a bit confusing. I put it down to memory loss which is mentioned, but it seems more like she lost memory of all the sexual encounters with the guy. It's very clear that she has PTSD, and even admits later in the book that she is aware of her triggers
I also doubt she suddenly reverts in the chapters set in the 'past' where she no longer believes that she has been raped and he's a horrible person. It seems more likely that she would once in a while have doubts that she wasn't really a victim rather than the other way round. In that sense, it really does feel like the author had a novella on her hands and had to extent it, or tried to do something smart and instead ended up with this mess where it's very inconsistent
And that really is where my dislike for the character just came from I think. I fully understand her battle with accepting that he's done something similar but 'milder' to other girls (though he had basically told her, she just didn't believe him) or relating to them because he's done something so bad to her. And it's an interesting discussion to have in a book because many people probably don't consider it. But among her battle to accept she's been abused, when she has done that 10 years prior already and you've read about it, it just doesn't work
The author also seems to try to do something smart with another teacher when she's in college. The process is more or less the same, it's revealed he had married his student (who was of age so it's a bit different) and he then tries to make Vanessa admit that she has a thing for him which she had written in a blog he read. Anyway, the way in which this is done, and I think the author was probably partly trying to show how grooming works by transferring it to the reader in a more 'acceptable' fashion, just loses it's punch. By this point I had come to see Vanessa as an unreliable narrator, and she's generally older which definitely loses some of that punch power. The whole thing with the blog and him wanting her to 'initiate' and therefore wash him of any blame is also just thrown into the mix suddenly. It could very well just be her seeing it from a previously-abused P.O.V and him being nice/caring or it could very well be him trying to do the same that the main teacher had done previously. It made me question the situation, a bit like Nessa had been with her previous relationship through the whole 'past' sequence, but it just lost the punch power
I also doubt she suddenly reverts in the chapters set in the 'past' where she no longer believes that she has been raped and he's a horrible person. It seems more likely that she would once in a while have doubts that she wasn't really a victim rather than the other way round. In that sense, it really does feel like the author had a novella on her hands and had to extent it, or tried to do something smart and instead ended up with this mess where it's very inconsistent
And that really is where my dislike for the character just came from I think. I fully understand her battle with accepting that he's done something similar but 'milder' to other girls (though he had basically told her, she just didn't believe him) or relating to them because he's done something so bad to her. And it's an interesting discussion to have in a book because many people probably don't consider it. But among her battle to accept she's been abused, when she has done that 10 years prior already and you've read about it, it just doesn't work
The author also seems to try to do something smart with another teacher when she's in college. The process is more or less the same, it's revealed he had married his student (who was of age so it's a bit different) and he then tries to make Vanessa admit that she has a thing for him which she had written in a blog he read. Anyway, the way in which this is done, and I think the author was probably partly trying to show how grooming works by transferring it to the reader in a more 'acceptable' fashion, just loses it's punch. By this point I had come to see Vanessa as an unreliable narrator, and she's generally older which definitely loses some of that punch power. The whole thing with the blog and him wanting her to 'initiate' and therefore wash him of any blame is also just thrown into the mix suddenly. It could very well just be her seeing it from a previously-abused P.O.V and him being nice/caring or it could very well be him trying to do the same that the main teacher had done previously. It made me question the situation, a bit like Nessa had been with her previous relationship through the whole 'past' sequence, but it just lost the punch power
There's also a weird thing where the author throws in animals that made me wonder if something bad was going to happen to them. Maybe it's just me and how I read it, but it felt like the author trying to 'tease' into the more emotionally-damaging territory which I found really untasteful tbh. Either do it or leave the whole thing alone
Some GoodReads review said that this should have been a novella and I sort of agree even if I did enjoy some of the second half of the book. All of the problems I had with Vanessa's character wouldn't have been so huge to the point where I dislike her
I thought I would mix it up a bit and take different genres. I'll let you know what I think about Piranesi, I've heard good things. Hope you enjoy it.
I expected to love this and really didn't rate it! Seems I'm in the minority though. Let me know what you think
Oh lovely, enjoy!
I just finished The Couple Upstairs by Shalini Boland and found it disappointingly average. It started off promising and I was kind of sucked in but then I found it got a bit ridiculous and none of the characters were very likeable. Was disappointed as I've read a few of her books before and loved all the others.
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I have just finished Stolen, in a day! I really enjoyed it. Looking for my next book now
I have the follow up to Thursday murder club via audible as it was great last time, hoping to do a read along so I force myself to actually chunk through it, dunno if anyone on here fancies it soon?
Just finished A Little Life, and I didn't enjoy it at all- it was so bleak and went on for way too long. Anyone else think it was overrated?
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately and everything’s been a bit meh. I’m thinking Stolen for my next read as everyone has raved about it so much 
no pressure to the OP haha
no pressure to the OP hahaI've not read it and have no interested in it as it sounds totally depressing. Thanks for confirming my decision!
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