COMMUNITIES
FUN & GAMES
LIBRARY
SITE INFO
OFFSITE LINKS
SoapZone Community Message Board
Subject: | Mine... |
From: | senorbrightside |
Date: | Tue, 07-May-2024 9:33:35 AM PDT |
Where: | SoapZone Community Message Board |
In reply to: | šššWhatcha reading, SZ? May 2024 Edition ššš posted by senorbrightside |
Seeing Strangers by Sebastian J. Plata (A). A gay couple are about to close their relationship once their surrogate mother gives birth, but a guy one once spurned is exacting his revenge by destroying their relationship. Short quick thriller that was fun and unhinged.
Table for Two by Amor Towles (B+). I probably would have appreciated this more if I had read Rules of Civility, which I havenāt yet. A collection of short stories and one novella with a character from RoC.
Too Much Is Not Enough and Uncle of the Year by Andrew Rannells. Iāve only seen Rannells in a couple of things and am way more familiar with his partner Tuc Watkins (Dr. Dorman #3! David Vickers, and I didnāt even *watch* OLTL! Desperate Housewives!), but I found his books such an enjoyable read that I am finally getting around to watching Girls for his supporting role on there as Elijah.
Letās Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih (C). Goodreads kept recommending me this book, andā¦I thought I had read it, but apparently had not, and it was just full of unlikeable, whiny characters and a plot that went nowhere that I wonder if I had started it and returned it unfinished at one point. I canāt even tell you what it was about as it was that forgettable.
Family Meal by Bryan Washington (C). Another unmemorablebooks that Goodreads also kept recommending. I want to like Washington more than I do, as I had read another book by him that was kinda meh onā¦was hoping this would be better, but it was worse.
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain (A-) This was a delightful read! Albert is about a UK Royal Post Service employee about to be forced into retirement at 65. After his cat dies at Christmas (mentioning that as itās a catalyst and because I know that could be a trigger), he decides to come out and look for his teenage lover that he was forced to separate from in the 1960s. Itās one of those cozy books with eccentric characters thatās just fun to read.
Ghost Story by Peter Straub (C-). So I loved The Talisman. Was meh on Black House. But I was encouraged to give Straub a try. And the prologue was hooking me. And thenā¦a bunch of interchangeable upper middle-class characters I couldnāt care about doing nothing but whineā¦and I skipped ahead to the ending and went on with my life because it was torture. Iām finding that as much as I love Stephen King, I donāt always enjoy his recommendations.
That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx (A-). Sheās becoming an old reliable writer fave! A big city guy from Denver in his first job post college finds himself in a small panhandle Texas town trying to convince farmers to sell their land to the evil corporationā¦but finds he cares about the town.
How Long Has This Been Going On? By Ethan Mordden. This is definitely the most ambitious read of the month at 590 pages. Itās a saga of a group of queer men and two lesbians that spans from 1949-1991 and shows the struggles that they had to go through to be who they were in each decade. They do conveniently all end up in NYC during Stonewall of course, and there is a weird omniscient narrator who throws himself into the story ever so often, but it was a great read.
Where You Once Belonged and Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (both B+). Finishing off Harufās six books about a small eastern Colorado town. Both books were great. Where You Once Belonged is about the high school star who steals money and leaves town for 8 yearsā¦and how life went on without himā¦and he comes back. Not the ending I expected. Our Souls at Night was about two elderly neighbours who begin a romance the kids donāt approve of (believe there is a Netflix movie starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda).
Return to Sender by Julia Ćlvarez (C). I thought this was an adult book, but it was apparently written for a middle school audience, and it was very preachy... A Vermont farm in the 2000s hires immigrants who arenāt exactly legal, and the 12 year old kid befriends their 12 year old daughter, who was born in Mexico but with sisters born in the US, and of course, immigration finds out.
What My Heart Wants to Tell, How We Talked, and Rennieās Way by Verna Mae Slone (B+). Verna Mae is my great great aunt, yet I had never read her books. (I met her as a kid. She lived to her 90s. What My Heart is a memoir of growing up in Eastern Kentucky, and How We Talked is a collection of phrases, sayings and traditions she grew up with. Rennieās Way is a short novel about a 12-year-old whose mom dies in birth, so she takes over raising the newborn and the sacrifices she made for it. Iām not sure what I would think of them without the family connection.
The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz (F). The book had a somewhat interesting premise of the scandalous lives of a family involved with bourbon in Kentucky, yet one twist made me slam the book shut. (Spoiler spoiler spoiler: the 17 year old finds out her 30 year old husband (already ick factor) is actually her brother).
-
Having been born and raised and still live in Eastern Ky... - ChiHardFan - 07-May-2024 8:42 PM
- If you read them, I definitely would be curious to know what modern day - senorbrightside - 08-May-2024 9:04 AM
-
I read The Shipping News by Annie Proulx and I really liked it - Andrea - 07-May-2024 10:19 AM
-
I read it in 2003 (It was a random book in English my first time in Spain, so - senorbrightside - 07-May-2024 10:51 AM
-
Have you seen the movie? It was good too, though... - Andrea - 07-May-2024 11:23 AM
-
I think I did, but...ugh, I tried rewatching LA Confidential last week as - senorbrightside - 07-May-2024 11:26 AM
- I love so many of his movies, and LA Confidential is one - Andrea - 07-May-2024 12:25 PM
-
I think I did, but...ugh, I tried rewatching LA Confidential last week as - senorbrightside - 07-May-2024 11:26 AM
-
Have you seen the movie? It was good too, though... - Andrea - 07-May-2024 11:23 AM
-
I read it in 2003 (It was a random book in English my first time in Spain, so - senorbrightside - 07-May-2024 10:51 AM
-
I didn't know you had a writer in the family--very cool! I will have - Wahoo - 07-May-2024 10:15 AM
- They might be hard to find outside of Appalachia, but if you did stumbe - senorbrightside - 07-May-2024 10:58 AM