What Fiction are you reading this week, May 12, 2019?

[hermetic]

Happy mother!

I’m becoming disenchanted with A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King. While not entirely awful, weak subplots and melodrama make this one not nearly as enjoyable as the few others I’ve read. I’m not giving up on this series, just not terribly pleased with this particular tale.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman was absolutely intense and heartbreaking, after a bit of a slog through the setup. My next audible is Small Wars by Lee Child.

Wishing you all a most pleasant day and happy reading. Do tell us about it.

And don’t forget, love your mother…
Earth.

[rzemanfl]

1. I am ashamed to say I'm reading

the latest in the Jack Reacher series.

On edit: I should have read all of yours. Now I don't feel so bad.

[hermetic]

4. LOL

Hey, there's no shame in reading Reacher.

“Jack Reacher is the coolest continuing series character now on offer.”—Stephen King

“Child is a superb craftsman of suspense.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Easily the best thriller series going.”—NPR

Lots of us here enjoy these books. That's what it's all about.

[rzemanfl]

19. I miss Travis McGee, sigh. n/t

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper.

It's his most recent.

Quoting from the flap (because I couldn't state it so succinctly) After the death of their absentee father, Aaron and Bridge Quinlan travel to a vast rain forest property in the Pacific Northwest to hear the reading of his will. There, they encounter their mother and troubled sister, Franny, and are shocked to discover the will's terms: in order to claim their inheritance, they must remain at the estate for thirty days without any contact with the outside world.

I'm about 75 pages in and so far it's very good. I've only read a couple of Pyper's other novels, but his first, Lost Girls is extremely good.

[hermetic]

7. Good stuff

Mr. Pyper has written many suspense thrillers that sound quite good.

This one really intrigues me: An anthology of challenging riddle mysteries that leave the solution-if there is one-to a different kind of detective: the reader. Uncertain Endings collects the most paradoxical puzzle stories ever written and guarantees to baffle even the most astute aficionado.
Have you read that one?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. No, I have not read it.

I just checked, and my library doesn't have it, so I've made a purchase request. Since it's not a new book I don't think they'll do that. Unfortunately, this month they are not taking any interlibrary loan requests due to staffing shortage. So I'll make a note of that book and if they don't purchase it I'll make an interlibrary loan request next month.

I am trying very hard to limit my own book purchases, if only because I am seriously running out of space in my small home.

[bobbieinok]

3. Rereading Jennifer Crusie noveĺs. Also great ones by Patricia Veryan!!

[hermetic]

8. Those sound like fun.

Romantic comedies.

[bobbieinok]

14. Crusie does comedy. Veryan does Prnice Charlie uprising--great historical romantic suspence

[Clash City Rocker]

5. Do Trump's tweets count?

[hermetic]

10. Nah

[Clash City Rocker]

22. But nothing is more fictional than a Trump tweet

[trev]

6. Just finished "The Influence" by Bentley Little.

Excellent characters, good pacing.

Now reading Kill Switch by Jonathon Maberry. I've known about Maberry for a long time, but never sat down with one of his novels. This one is part of his Joe Ledger series. I picked it up because the title caught my eye; it's the same name an old friend of mine gave his screenplay years ago.

It's good so far. I'm particularly intrigued by his youngest character; will be interesting to see what he develops into.

[hermetic]

9. Wow, scary stuff

What do you do when the power goes off?

Terrorists have acquired a terrible new weapon that can crash the power grid and plunge America into a new dark age. A coordinated attack is planned to shut out all lights and emergency services to ten major cities. Planes will fall, hospitals will go dark, no help will come.

And it gets worse.

[dameatball]

11. "Burning Bright" by Nick Petrie. 2nd in the Peter Ash series.

[hermetic]

16. Another good one

Ash has a woman's life in his hands -- and her mystery is stranger than he could ever imagine.

[matt819]

12. Reading and listening

Finishing up the audiobook of John Sandford’s latest, Neon Prey. Excellent, as usual.

Just started reading the second in the Simon Serailler series by Susan Hill, The Pure in Heart. A real pro of a writer. Great character development. Formulaic, with twists, which are not always welcome.

[hermetic]

17. Ah, yes

Davenport pursues a prolific serial killer who has gone undetected for years, in the newest nail-biter by Sandford, and there's even more to this killer than meets the eye.

Also, Susan Hill brilliantly creates a community, with detail so sharp and convincing that readers feel that these people are their neighbours. And that terror and evil are always in their midst. . . .

Very interesting.

[happybird]

15. Read Ready Player One yesterday

Found the book while packing and used it as an excuse to take the day off. I hate packing, lol!

It was okay. The first half was interesting but the second half felt rushed, and I lost interest in and concern for the characters. It became too predictable. I was expecting the book to be better.

[hermetic]

18. There were things about it

that I really liked. And some not so much. But at least it was way better than the movie.

[japple]

20. The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash, which is based on the story of Ella May Wiggins.

The New York Times bestselling author of the celebrated A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy returns with this eagerly awaited new novel, set in the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina in 1929 and inspired by actual events. The chronicle of an ordinary woman's struggle for dignity and her rights in a textile mill, The Last Ballad is a moving tale of courage in the face of oppression and injustice, with the emotional power of Ron Rash's Serena, Dennis Lehane's The Given Day, and the unforgettable films Norma Rae and Silkwood.

A native of Sevierville, Tennessee, Wiggins by 1926 settled in Gaston County, NC, living in an African-American neighborhood outside Bessemer City known as Stumptown. Her neighbors would look after her children as she worked as a spinner at American Mill No. 2. According to an article published online by the North Carolina Museum of History, "she worked twelve-hour days, six days a week, earning about nine dollars a week."

She became a bookkeeper for the union, which was Communist run, and traveled to Washington, D.C., to testify about labor practices in the South. She also told her story: “I’m the mother of nine. Four died with the whooping cough, all at once. I was working nights, I asked the super to put me on days, so’s I could tend ‘em when they had their bad spells. But he wouldn’t. I don’t know why. ... So I had to quit, and then there wasn’t no money for medicine, and they just died.”[2]

She also sang her ballads, including her best-known song, “A Mill Mother’s Lament,” which has been recorded by Pete Seeger, among others.

Wiggins believed in organizing African-Americans along with whites, and in a close vote, her local NTWU branch voted to admit African-Americans to the union.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_May_Wiggins

[hermetic]

21. Most Aweome

And this led me to discover that I can get Wiley's audible A Land More Kind.. from my library so I'll be hearing that soon. So thanks!