Bred Any Good Rooks Lately?

GNTLGNT

...my grandparents were living/breathing books....I'm just sorry I didn't realize it until it was to late....

Hedda Gabler

😂 to number one. 

And yes, grandpas are the best. 

Kurben

Hedda Gabler said:

😂 to number one. 

And yes, grandpas are the best. 

Did not have a literary grandpa. My love for books come totally from my parents. My father have got a little from his mother, the kindest person i ever met. (And she loved me...). Never met my mothers parents, died early. What i did get from my grandpa was that he introduced my to fine portwine....

Lou_Sytsma

Bev - saw you read The Ferryman by Justin Cronin.  Thoughts?

Grant87

Lou_Sytsma said:

Bev - saw you read The Ferryman by Justin Cronin.  Thoughts?

I finished it recently and liked it a lot. It's definitely got some big ideas. In baseball terms, I'd say Cronin took a huge swing here, but just missed hitting a home run. The concepts and plot were very interesting, but I didn't connect with the characters as much as I thought I would. There were definitely times when the characters took a back seat to the plot. That's fine, but if I could have connected with some of the characters more, this would have been a 5-star book for me. I definitely recommend giving it a read. I'm excited to see what Cronin comes up with next.

Grant87

Grant87 said:

Lou_Sytsma said:

Bev - saw you read The Ferryman by Justin Cronin.  Thoughts?

I finished it recently and liked it a lot. It's definitely got some big ideas. In baseball terms, I'd say Cronin took a huge swing here, but just missed hitting a home run. The concepts and plot were very interesting, but I didn't connect with the characters as much as I thought I would. There were definitely times when the characters took a back seat to the plot. That's fine, but if I could have connected with some of the characters more, this would have been a 5-star book for me. I definitely recommend giving it a read. I'm excited to see what Cronin comes up with next.

Also of note, if you listen to podcasts, Justin Cronin appeared on the Talking Scared podcast back in May. I listened to it today, and it was fantastic. They talk extensively about The Ferryman in the episode. How the story came to be, what books and movies influenced the author, etc. They kept it spoiler-free, but I'd still recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. I recommend going in to the book knowing as little about the story as possible. Then go listen to the Talking Scared episode. Highly recommended.

Kurben

OK, i did it.... I bought The Ferryman. It lies in my TBR list for july. 

GNTLGNT

...Kurbie bought a book....whoda thunk it?.....

FlakeNoir

GNTLGNT said:

...Kurbie bought a book....whoda thunk it?.....

If Kurben buys a book, does a bear and the pope fall silent as the tree shits in the woods? 🤔

GNTLGNT

FlakeNoir said:

GNTLGNT said:

...Kurbie bought a book....whoda thunk it?.....

If Kurben buys a book, does a bear and the pope fall silent as the tree shits in the woods? 🤔

Hedda Gabler

Grant87 said:

Grant87 said:

Lou_Sytsma said:

Bev - saw you read The Ferryman by Justin Cronin.  Thoughts?

I finished it recently and liked it a lot. It's definitely got some big ideas. In baseball terms, I'd say Cronin took a huge swing here, but just missed hitting a home run. The concepts and plot were very interesting, but I didn't connect with the characters as much as I thought I would. There were definitely times when the characters took a back seat to the plot. That's fine, but if I could have connected with some of the characters more, this would have been a 5-star book for me. I definitely recommend giving it a read. I'm excited to see what Cronin comes up with next.

Also of note, if you listen to podcasts, Justin Cronin appeared on the Talking Scared podcast back in May. I listened to it today, and it was fantastic. They talk extensively about The Ferryman in the episode. How the story came to be, what books and movies influenced the author, etc. They kept it spoiler-free, but I'd still recommend reading the book before listening to the episode. I recommend going in to the book knowing as little about the story as possible. Then go listen to the Talking Scared episode. Highly recommended.

There is an interview with Mike Flanagan on this podcast about The Dark Tower that is very good, too. 

Grant87

Here are all the books I read in June:

• The Waste Lands, Stephen King
• The Godfather, Mario Puzo
• The Ferryman, Justin Cronin
• The Firm, John Grisham
• Fevre Dream, George R.R. Martin

It was another great reading month for me. I already talked a little bit about The Ferryman and how much I enjoyed it. I'm loving The Dark Tower series. One of my favorite things about this series so far is the unpredictability of it. I truly have no idea what King is gonna throw at me next, and that's exciting. I've had Fevre Dream on my shelf for years, and now I regret not picking it up a long time ago. GRRM is obviously known for A Song of Ice and Fire, but he wrote a pretty outstanding vampire novel here. I really enjoy historical horror too, so this was right up my alley. Highly recommended.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My July TBR:

• Wizard and Glass, Stephen King
• The Gray Man, Mark Greaney
• Timeline, Michael Crichton
• Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane
• World War Z, Max Brooks

FlakeNoir

@Grant87 I enjoyed The Firm, Grisham tells a good tale.

Grant87

FlakeNoir said:

@Grant87 I enjoyed The Firm, Grisham tells a good tale.

Yes he does. I liked The Firm a lot. I have The Pelican Brief too, and may try and get to it sometime soon. I imagine I'll pick up more of his stuff and mix one in now and again.

FlakeNoir

Grant87 said:

FlakeNoir said:

@Grant87 I enjoyed The Firm, Grisham tells a good tale.

Yes he does. I liked The Firm a lot. I have The Pelican Brief too, and may try and get to it sometime soon. I imagine I'll pick up more of his stuff and mix one in now and again.

I don't think I've read The Pelican Brief, but I have read A Time to Kill, which was very, very good. It kept me up into the wee small hours well back before I became a natural night owl.
Let me know if you read this one. 

Grant87

FlakeNoir said:

Grant87 said:

FlakeNoir said:

@Grant87 I enjoyed The Firm, Grisham tells a good tale.

Yes he does. I liked The Firm a lot. I have The Pelican Brief too, and may try and get to it sometime soon. I imagine I'll pick up more of his stuff and mix one in now and again.

I don't think I've read The Pelican Brief, but I have read A Time to Kill, which was very, very good. It kept me up into the wee small hours well back before I became a natural night owl.
Let me know if you read this one. 

I actually think I have that one too. I'll add it to the list as well.

Kurben

Grant87 said:

Here are all the books I read in June:

• The Waste Lands, Stephen King
• The Godfather, Mario Puzo
• The Ferryman, Justin Cronin
• The Firm, John Grisham
• Fevre Dream, George R.R. Martin

It was another great reading month for me. I already talked a little bit about The Ferryman and how much I enjoyed it. I'm loving The Dark Tower series. One of my favorite things about this series so far is the unpredictability of it. I truly have no idea what King is gonna throw at me next, and that's exciting. I've had Fevre Dream on my shelf for years, and now I regret not picking it up a long time ago. GRRM is obviously known for A Song of Ice and Fire, but he wrote a pretty outstanding vampire novel here. I really enjoy historical horror too, so this was right up my alley. Highly recommended.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My July TBR:

• Wizard and Glass, Stephen King
• The Gray Man, Mark Greaney
• Timeline, Michael Crichton
• Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane
• World War Z, Max Brooks

Great July list!! I have read all but The gray man and all were very good. Thanks for the tip of Fevre Dream! One i had forgot about. I also like historical horror so think i must try to get my hands on that one.

Hedda Gabler

A Time to Kill — that opening was so powerful. Well written and devastating. 

I have put Fevre Dream on my list too.

cat

Haven't contributed in a while. Here's a few of what I've read this year. 

The Dismembered Jonathan Janz Cemetery Dance. Gothic horror, had some Frankenstein flavors. Pretty good.

The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro First book for me by this author and I loved it. 


*Water For Elephants Sara Gruen 
Have had this one forever, and have watched the movie. Some slight differences but this one was really good. 

*Where They Wait Scott Carson 
Liked this a lot, had me thinking about vivid dreams and insomnia, which I suffer from a lot. 

*Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing Matthew Perry 
I was excited to read this. Am glad I did but it did change my opinion of MP overall, which makes me sad. I don't like knowing he was so unhappy, so high, during filming of Friends so often. Chandler was always my favorite. 


*The Maid Anita Prose 
Pretty great little who-dun-it. I enjoyed it a lot. 

Goblin Josh Malerman 
Short stories that all connect to one town. I admire the effort but only really liked a couple of the stories. 

cat

*HP 5 The Order of the Phoenix pb
*Outlander 6 A Breath of Snow and Ashes 
Both rereads,  the Outlander series I am rereading, working my way up to book 9, which has been out for a year and a half now! Slowly getting there and have (mostly) avoided spoilers. I think. 😄 


*Insomnia Sarah Pinborough library kindle
Ok quick easy read but nothing really great

*The Story of Arthur Truluv  LOVED THIS ONE. Hit all the feels, highly recommend. 

*Rooms Lauren Oliver 
Gothic type haunted house story pretty good

*The Whistler John Grisham 
Ok, exciting in places. First Grisham for me in a while. 

The Cartographers Peng Shepherd 
I really liked this one. First half was more a mystery but second half was excellent. There was an "other world than these" element and the ending fell just a tad flat but I would absolutely recommend. 

*Follow the Crumbs by our Marsha DeFilippo
I really enjoyed it, the mystery was solid, the characters real and relatable. Check it out when it comes available! 

Currently reading Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda. About 70% thru, it is a good summer read. 

Grant87

cat said:

Haven't contributed in a while. Here's a few of what I've read this year. 

The Dismembered Jonathan Janz Cemetery Dance. Gothic horror, had some Frankenstein flavors. Pretty good.

The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro First book for me by this author and I loved it. 


*Water For Elephants Sara Gruen 
Have had this one forever, and have watched the movie. Some slight differences but this one was really good. 

*Where They Wait Scott Carson 
Liked this a lot, had me thinking about vivid dreams and insomnia, which I suffer from a lot. 

*Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing Matthew Perry 
I was excited to read this. Am glad I did but it did change my opinion of MP overall, which makes me sad. I don't like knowing he was so unhappy, so high, during filming of Friends so often. Chandler was always my favorite. 


*The Maid Anita Prose 
Pretty great little who-dun-it. I enjoyed it a lot. 

Goblin Josh Malerman 
Short stories that all connect to one town. I admire the effort but only really liked a couple of the stories. 

I really want to check out some of Ishiguro's work. Justin Cronin talked about how Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go was a big influence on The Ferryman, so I have it on my TBR.

I didn't like Goblin at all. My favorite part was the introduction "story." It was a big letdown for me, because it has one of the best covers I've seen in a while. Malerman is very hit or miss for me, and it seems like that's how it is for a lot of people. I really liked his newest novel, Daphne. I'd recommend giving that one a read. Bird Box is really good too.

cat

Grant87 said:

cat said:

Haven't contributed in a while. Here's a few of what I've read this year. 

The Dismembered Jonathan Janz Cemetery Dance. Gothic horror, had some Frankenstein flavors. Pretty good.

The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro First book for me by this author and I loved it. 


*Water For Elephants Sara Gruen 
Have had this one forever, and have watched the movie. Some slight differences but this one was really good. 

*Where They Wait Scott Carson 
Liked this a lot, had me thinking about vivid dreams and insomnia, which I suffer from a lot. 

*Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing Matthew Perry 
I was excited to read this. Am glad I did but it did change my opinion of MP overall, which makes me sad. I don't like knowing he was so unhappy, so high, during filming of Friends so often. Chandler was always my favorite. 


*The Maid Anita Prose 
Pretty great little who-dun-it. I enjoyed it a lot. 

Goblin Josh Malerman 
Short stories that all connect to one town. I admire the effort but only really liked a couple of the stories. 

I really want to check out some of Ishiguro's work. Justin Cronin talked about how Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go was a big influence on The Ferryman, so I have it on my TBR.

I didn't like Goblin at all. My favorite part was the introduction "story." It was a big letdown for me, because it has one of the best covers I've seen in a while. Malerman is very hit or miss for me, and it seems like that's how it is for a lot of people. I really liked his newest novel, Daphne. I'd recommend giving that one a read. Bird Box is really good too.

I have read Bird Box and really liked it. Have the follow up but haven't read it yet. Will put Daphne on my list, thanks! 

I also have The Ferryman in my TBR pile. I have been trying to clear up some of my wish list via the library. But I keep adding more to it so I'm not really making any progress. 😄

Kurben

Grant87 said:

cat said:

Haven't contributed in a while. Here's a few of what I've read this year. 

The Dismembered Jonathan Janz Cemetery Dance. Gothic horror, had some Frankenstein flavors. Pretty good.

The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro First book for me by this author and I loved it. 


*Water For Elephants Sara Gruen 
Have had this one forever, and have watched the movie. Some slight differences but this one was really good. 

*Where They Wait Scott Carson 
Liked this a lot, had me thinking about vivid dreams and insomnia, which I suffer from a lot. 

*Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing Matthew Perry 
I was excited to read this. Am glad I did but it did change my opinion of MP overall, which makes me sad. I don't like knowing he was so unhappy, so high, during filming of Friends so often. Chandler was always my favorite. 


*The Maid Anita Prose 
Pretty great little who-dun-it. I enjoyed it a lot. 

Goblin Josh Malerman 
Short stories that all connect to one town. I admire the effort but only really liked a couple of the stories. 

I really want to check out some of Ishiguro's work. Justin Cronin talked about how Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go was a big influence on The Ferryman, so I have it on my TBR.

I didn't like Goblin at all. My favorite part was the introduction "story." It was a big letdown for me, because it has one of the best covers I've seen in a while. Malerman is very hit or miss for me, and it seems like that's how it is for a lot of people. I really liked his newest novel, Daphne. I'd recommend giving that one a read. Bird Box is really good too.

I can recommend Ishiguro. His novels often cross boundaries. There is often an aspect of SF or fantasy, alternate history to them. I have only read three of his, Never Let Me Go, The Remains Of The Day and The Buried Giant, but he hasn't let me down yet.

Kurben

I can say that all reports i've heard about The Ferryman seem to be correct. I am 200 pages in and its very good. Losing a nights sleep over it but its worth it!

Grant87

cat said:

Grant87 said:

cat said:

Haven't contributed in a while. Here's a few of what I've read this year. 

The Dismembered Jonathan Janz Cemetery Dance. Gothic horror, had some Frankenstein flavors. Pretty good.

The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro First book for me by this author and I loved it. 


*Water For Elephants Sara Gruen 
Have had this one forever, and have watched the movie. Some slight differences but this one was really good. 

*Where They Wait Scott Carson 
Liked this a lot, had me thinking about vivid dreams and insomnia, which I suffer from a lot. 

*Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing Matthew Perry 
I was excited to read this. Am glad I did but it did change my opinion of MP overall, which makes me sad. I don't like knowing he was so unhappy, so high, during filming of Friends so often. Chandler was always my favorite. 


*The Maid Anita Prose 
Pretty great little who-dun-it. I enjoyed it a lot. 

Goblin Josh Malerman 
Short stories that all connect to one town. I admire the effort but only really liked a couple of the stories. 

I really want to check out some of Ishiguro's work. Justin Cronin talked about how Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go was a big influence on The Ferryman, so I have it on my TBR.

I didn't like Goblin at all. My favorite part was the introduction "story." It was a big letdown for me, because it has one of the best covers I've seen in a while. Malerman is very hit or miss for me, and it seems like that's how it is for a lot of people. I really liked his newest novel, Daphne. I'd recommend giving that one a read. Bird Box is really good too.

I have read Bird Box and really liked it. Have the follow up but haven't read it yet. Will put Daphne on my list, thanks! 

I also have The Ferryman in my TBR pile. I have been trying to clear up some of my wish list via the library. But I keep adding more to it so I'm not really making any progress. 😄

Don't worry, you're not the only one with a mountainous TBR pile. I think every time I finish a book, three more get added to the pile.