Books! Books! Books!

Hi! Hope you all have been keeping safe and healthy :)

So I've been on a thriller/mystery kick after finally reading "Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane and ordering more of his books. (I'm waiting for the perfect stormy night so I can watch the movie too). Also, re-read Gillian Flynn's collection for about the third time, one of my favorite authors, and have "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series on my list as well as some Agatha Christie (can't believe I've never read her books).

I just finished "Those Who Wish Me Dead" by Michael Koryta and I regret finishing it so fast. Mostly bought it because of the film adaptation that came out this year with Angelina Jolie, but now I'm hesitant to watch that because I worry it will ruin the book version of it in my head haha.

Books dealing with mental health are also always on my radar. I recently re-read my favorites: "Speak" and "Girl in Pieces" and have a few memoirs like "Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia" by Marya Hornbacher that are next on my list .

What have you been reading recently or hope to read? Please share!

I haven't been reading much recently.

The last book I read was Stephen Hawkings 'brief answers to the big questions'

Before that I read the complete collection of a story of ice and fire or game of thrones.

I also enjoy reading Dan Brown, however when I read his stuff I tend to Google some of the places he describes. I also tend to go down a rabbit hole by googling some of the faiths or beliefs such as the Portuguese Templars.

I also enjoy anything Tudor based and have read a lot of Philippa Gregory.

I think Mr Hawkings book may have messed with my mind though. I've been trying to comprehend what true 4d is.

Next up is a book on Charles Darwin and I also hope to read Dante's inferno.
War and peace is also on my list just so I can say I read it.

I have been reading variety of books lately. The two main go to books I am working on are A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi and Almost French by Sarah Turnbull. With being cooped up for the last year, I am developing a strong wanderlust at the moment.

I am also reading some books in the Scifi/Fantasy genre. I'm recently read the Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith, and loved it, so I have moved on to reading the second book in the series, The Glamourist. I'm also reading The Weird Tales of Tanith Lee, which is really a book of short stories, which makes it great for reading in small bursts.

My work sometimes does optional Trivia games over zoom during the lunch hour, and one of the Trivia topics was the Lord of the Rings movies. Being a true nerd, I got all but one of the questions right. This made me want to re-read the books again, so I have been reading The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien again as well.

Sometimes I will read a book straight through and be unable to put it down, while other days I jump from book to book based on my mood, which is how I end up with so many books going at once.

Nothing lately because of my depression but a few of my favorite books include:

It's kind of a funny story by ned vizzini
Symptoms of being human by Jeff Garvin
I'll give you the sun by Jandy Nelson
In a strange room by damon galgut

Edit: My birthday is on Tuesday so I'm hoping to start rereading symptoms of being human soon.

Darren, great to hear from you! Hawkings has been on my list for awhile, but haven't heard of some of the others you mentioned so glad you shared. And yes to Dante's "Inferno" and "War and peace". I get what you mean. I kind of felt the same about "Crime and Punishment" back in high school when it was part of our advanced reading, but I never finished it.

Silently Screaming - I don't have too many books in the scifi-fantasy genre, sounds neat! The Trivia games sound like so much fun and that's awesome about LOTR. I still have a weathered single volume edition, and it feels me with nostalgia. We'd actually have a lot of down time in high school if we finished our assignments early, and I remember freshmen year carrying that beast with me on top of my textbooks. People definitely gave me weird looks and one friend even asked why I'd bother to read the foreword. I understand it can be quite lengthy of course and "heavy" to read, but I loved it! You make me want to reread it now :)

Rayven - "It's kind of a funny story" is one I'll always hold close to my heart. That's cool you mentioned it. I re-read it every year. Maybe because it was one of the first books that I read as a teen that really talked about mental health in such an honest, relatable way, not to mention Vizzini's own struggles too. "Symtoms of being human" I actually ordered this year since I never had my own copy, since it was the first book I read about being non-binary and at the time, was incredibly eye-opening and I related to the character. I vaguely remember reading "I'll give you the sun" years ago but haven't heard of "In a strange room". Happy early birthday!

Any opinions on Stephen King? I haven't read his books in maybe a decade, and don't remember what ones I read in the past besides "IT". I've heard some say his short stories are better than his novels, and perhaps I'm just put off by the sheer amount he pushes out in his books. I like his mind and where he goes with certain ideas, but don't always feel he wraps them up well, but I haven't read anything recent. Any specific suggestions? Is he the kind of author where I have to pick and choose random books until I find one I like? I've also been put off by how he's written female characters in the past, but again, don't know if that was just a certain period in which he was writing, and he's improved, or what.

MA, Gillian Flynn's books are great! They're very hard to put down. I'm on the fence about Stephen King.

Darren, I love Dan Brown, but what I really wish is that I could show you my Philippa Gregory collection. I've read nearly everything she's written.
"I've been trying to comprehend what true 4d is." <-- I think you might enjoy a little book called Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott.

I'll check out flatland. Might help my brain move on

MA

I love Stephen King, but admittedly there's also a connection to my childhood there as my dad had a huge collection of King's as well as all of the "Bachman Books" written under the alias Richard Bachman. I will say that some of his writings get a bit long-winded or were clearly written in the midst of a cloud of cocaine. But overall I find his stories fantastical, with that perfect level of "you know something is there but can't quite see it" horror that feels the most real to me.

I also deeply enjoy the way he loosely tied most of his works together with the multiversal battle between life and death in The Dark Tower series, a favorite of mine.

I won't say he's great at writing women, but the character of Susannah Dean had a very interesting journey and was fun to follow on it. I will admit that I do find Holly Gibney, the PI character featured in "The Outsider" a bit bland.

Yes, I know what you mean! I think I enjoy psychological thrillers or horror the most. Same with shows and films, where the monster is something that isn't always shown, something not tangible in a sense. And I love when authors explore fear and human emotions, because that can create the most complexities and terror that a monster or creature might not necessarily capture. I've heard about the Dark Tower series but haven't read it yet, neat! Thanks, Nevi :)

I'm nearly finished an interesting book called 'The Midnight Library.' It's a kind of parallel universe, alternate reality theme.

On audiobook I'm listening to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which is a kind of prequel to the Hunger Games series following President Snow as an 18 year old. So far it's super.

A book I'd recommend for lovers of history is Band of Brothers. There's a great TV miniseries based on it from about 2001. It follows a company of US paratroopers and their experiences in WW2. An excellent read and it certainly made me realize how lucky I am and how different and difficult life was for that generation.

Colm! So great to hear from you. "The Midnight Library" sounds quite intriguing, going to have to remember that one.

I've heard mixed reviews on the HG prequel, but that was mostly when it came out and people I knew weren't too excited or cared about Snow's perspective. But that's awesome to hear your thoughts on it. I feel like I'd want to re-read the HG series. It's been since high school since I've read the books O_o

I recently re-watched the HG movies having not watched them since they were out in the cinema, and I forgot how good (and dark!) they were.

The prequel about Snow is about his involvement as a mentor in the 10th Hunger Games. It kind of goes into detail about the war and the origins of the hunger games.