July 2018: What are we reading?

For some reason, I am persisting in trying to read all of Gail Bowen's Joanne Kilbourn mystery series, though I still can't stand the main character, even after all these years of reading about her! I finished What's Left Behind the other night.

Continuing on my quest-finished The Winners' Circle by Gail Bowen last night.

Planning to start The Word is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz.

Was touring my local bookstore, they had a sale on books by Canadian authors for Canada Day, and got mesmerized by this cover for Not Wanted on the Voyage.


I already have a copy waiting to be read at home, different cover, so I passed. Been wishing myself back to the bookstore ever since. That cat stare is totally mesmerizing.

I've finished The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope by Austen Ivereigh and am currently reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I found another early Joyce Carol Oates book: I Lock My Door Upon Myself

I'm reading Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill with Lisa Pulitzer.

I can't remember who suggested this book, and I'm not normally a non fiction reader, but I did find this quite interesting: Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood by Pauline Dakin

>4 Cecrow: I really enjoyed that one. It was the first I read by him. I don't think I've read more, but I have been meaning to!

Milkrun / Sarah Mlynowski
4 stars

When Jackie’s boyfriend leaves for Thailand (after she has packed up in order to follow him to Boston!) to “find himself”, then she hears from him that he’s found a new girlfriend, Jackie is devastated and doesn’t quite know what to do. With one of the very few girlfriends she has (she only has two, and one is in New York), she decides to get all dolled up and go out and find someone new.

This was fun! I wasn’t crazy about Jackie, herself, but parts of the story were quite amusing and I laughed out loud! Her job was entertaining (she’s a copy editor for a romance publisher). I don’t read a lot of chick lit, but I quite enjoy it when I do. This was a quick read and I do like this author. I really liked the ending.

Finished The Twisted Sword, the second-last Poldark novel.

Back to my favourite genre (crime fiction) and one of my favourite series: The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths.

Having recently read House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout, I've started The Price of Life by Nigel Brennan, who was held with her.

Couldn't sleep last night because of the heat, so finished a "thriller" by a UK writer I haven't read before: Give Me the Child by Mel McGrath. Held my interest, for sure.

Just finished Castrovalva, the novelization of the Fifth Doctor story of the same name. It helped to have seen the TV version first; it's a bit trippy.

Don't read many horror stories anymore, but this one is written by a Canadian, so I succumbed. The Only Child by Andrew Pyper.

I've read Can Your Conversations Change the World? by Erinne Paisley and have started Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck.

>13 LynnB: In the headlines again recently, when her kidnapper was sentenced to 15 years after being enticed to come to Canada.

Just finished The Man in the Yellow Raft, a collection of extremely boaty short stories by C.S. Forester. These are set in the US Navy during the Second World War.

I also recently finished the short story collection Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards. It was handy to read in the heat, but overall I preferred the Christmas-themed collection Silent Nights, also edited by Martin Edwards.

>13 LynnB: >18 VivienneR: I do want to also read the book by Nigel. Also, Amanda's mother just published a book from her perspective, as well, so I imagine I'll read it, as well.

This is the 2nd book I've read recently by this UK writer and both were very thought provoking. Just finished The Child Who by Simon Lelic

I've ordered Lorinda Stewart's book about her daughter's (Amanda Lindhout) kidnapping.

Nigel Brennan's book, The Price of Life was co-authored with his sister Nicky and sister-in-law Kellie. In terms of reading about the kidnapping itself and the horrors of being held hostage, Amanda Lindhout's book, A House in the Sky is better. But what was so gripping and heart-wrenching in Nigel's book are the perspectives of his family members as they attempt to wade through government bureaucracy and then head out in the uncharted waters of professional Kidnap and Ransom companies, fundraising, negotiating with hostage takers.....all while in the emotional state of worry about their brother.

>22 LynnB: Interesting. I guess a lot of that will be in Amanada's mother's book.

Just finished the very first novel in Gail Bowen's long running Joanne Kilbourn mystery series-Deadly Appearances.

She Came to Stay by Simone de Beauvoir is my next read.

Preparing to start a re-read of The Honourable Schoolboy, by John le Carré, which I borrowed from my parents.

I just got a new copy of The Honourable Schoolboy. I'm planning to re-read all of the George Smiley novels - without leaving years in between books this time!

I'm reading The Rules to Break by Richard Templar.

>27 VivienneR: Good plan! I've left rather a long time between my re-reads, and this re-read is out of order; I ended up reading TTSS, then Smiley's People, and now this one.

After finishing White Nights, by Ann Cleeves, my next library read will be The Story of English in 100 Words, by David Crystal.

I'm reading Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor.

Today I finished reading Sylvanus Now by the lovely writer Donna Morrissey

I'm about to start The Whirlpool by Jane Urquhart.

I've gobbled up The Story of English in 100 Words and will continue my non-fiction reading with Conan Doyle for the Defence, by Margalit Fox.

Just finished a thriller that I found myself really caught up in: The Liar's Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard, an Irish writer.

Finished Conan Doyle for the Defense and started and finished the coffee-table book Postcards from the Boys, by Ringo Starr.

Next up in library reading is Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains, by Helen Thomson.

I'm re-reading The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country by Charlotte Gray for a book club discussion.

Couldn't put down Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains, so I ended up finishing it yesterday afternoon.

Next up: The Commitments, by Roddy Doyle.

I'm reading Leaving Before the Rains Come by Alexandra Fuller. Her first book, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight still haunts me years later.

>36 LynnB:, I've been tempted to read that, since via a bizarre sequence of marriages, backflips and other contortions I can arrive at that Mr. Massey on my family tree. The Wikipedia summary is interesting.

Finished The Commitments on Sunday; it was a very quick read!

Next off the library shelves is Into the Raging Sea, by Rachel Slade, which tells the story of the sinking of the El Faro.

>40 rabbitprincess: The movie was fun! It came out about 20 years ago (or more).