Book-Talk Monday: What Are You Reading? (June 2012)
Monday, June 4, 2012
It’s the first Monday of the month, so you know what that means!
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- What is the most recent book you’ve finished reading? (Please tell us a little about it, and whether or not you enjoyed/would recommend it.)
- What are you currently reading?
- What’s the next book on your To Be Read stack?
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KayeDacus.com 
I finished a little joke book for kids this weekend while deleting a bunch of books off my Kindle (in hopes of making it run faster – didn’t really work, oh well.) I love puns so the jokes made me grin.
Currently, I’ve been reading a couple book samples, but don’t feel I can commit to a full reading since I’m busy with my own book.
TBR stack is huge, but I just got loaned a novella by an author I really like (through booklending.com) so I’m probably going to take a few hours when I need a break sometime in the next week or so.
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I thought about removing some stuff (mainly samples) from my Kindle to see if that would help it run faster. Good to know it doesn’t really help before I deleted anything.
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I think it’s a problem with my processor or the wifi or something. My husband now has much more on his Kindle and it works fine. Of course, it could be because I download lots of free books every few days or weeks and it’s constantly indexing them. It is a bit faster without as much stuff on there, though.
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I just finished a nonfiction book for research–the last in about a dozen from that batch of library visits–and I was surprised to really love this book! I figured I’d skim it for useful information but I ended up studying it and taking lots of notes. The book was Master of Disguise by Antonio Mendez.
Next up, I just received notice that Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is ready for me to “e-checkout” from my library, so I’ll probably tackle that.
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Okay, so knowing the title of the book you were intrigued by is Master of Disguise, it makes me really curious (a) what the book’s about and (b) what you’re writing. 😉
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I’m reading “A Necessary Deception” by Laurie Alice Eakes. I’m loving it. Very Georgette Heyer.
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Laurie Alice Eakes sounds good!
I’ve just finished an advance copy of Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury, the last in the Baxter series. The first half was barely average (too many flashbacks), the second half was classic Kingsbury.
Next up is Two Crosses by Elizabeth Mussler, a new-for-me author.
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I think I downloaded that one recently. Can’t remember if it was the full or the sample. I guess I need to go check and move it up my TBR queue!
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Well, first I’ll say that I think Laurie Alice Eakes would enjoy the comparison. I also have A Necessary Deception on my Kindle now but I haven’t gotten to it yet. Loved her midwife series too!
I am currently reading Chameleon by Julian Kent from Realms Publishers. Another Regency era – with a mystery feel. I’m really enjoying it. Sadly I can’t recall what book I last finished… I’ve been reading a lot of craft and research books but mostly falling asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow (physical labor has its benefits but isn’t conducive to reading in bed).
Kaye, what are you reading or did I miss it?
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Debra—I was so exhausted last night I almost fell asleep without remembering to put the blog post up at all. But I rectified that and posted on one of my breaks today,
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I have just finished Dangerous Impostor by Virginia Smith its a Love Inspired Suspense. Lauren has been accused of murder and no one believes she has been framed except her boss Brent. She is in Vegas for a conference when her workmate is murdered in the room next door.
This was a good read and I was surprised by a few things.It left me wanting more. I am really looking forward to Virginia’s next book.
next book I think will be Cheryl Wyatt’s book which is coming out end of the month The Doctor’s Devotion. really looking forward to it. I just had some LI and LIH arrive in the last week so cant wait to get into them but Cheryl’s first then probably Jillian Harts and then Rhonda Gibson (her book is in a state I haven’t read yet where as the Cheryl and Jillian’s books are states I have read).
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If you get the LI romantic suspense books, be sure to look for those written by Liz (may be Elizabeth on the cover) Johnson. She’s a good friend of mine!
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I have one or two of hers on my self will check them out. I actually won one. I am reading more LIS this year.
I am loving Cheryl Wyatt’s new book I read way to late last night but its really good.
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I just finished Austenland and Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale. My daughter read her YA books and liked them, and I’m in love with all things Jane Austen, so I gave them a shot. They were good. The subject matter was the biggest motivation to finish them, not to say that the books were horrible. The first was better than the second, and if there is a third, I’ll read it. They remind me very much of the Beth Pattillo series (Jane Austen Ruined My Life, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, The Dashwood Sisters Tell All) and just as clean.
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I enjoyed the first Austenland book, but it was one of those books that was good enough for a one-time reading, but I don’t know that I’ll ever go back to it (or its sequels).
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Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that I’m OVER all things Austen and all things Regency, after spending five years immersed in that world when writing the Ransome series.
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I’m the opposite here…I actually preferred Midnight in Austenland to its predecessor. 🙂
Ruth
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I just finished “The Unquiet Bones” Hugh de Singleton Series Book 1 by Mel Starr. The series (4 books at this point) is set in 14th century England and are mysteries. The stories are very good. The main character is a surgeon, who becomes the Bailiff of a lord’s castle and solves the mysterious death that occur. I would recommend the series.
I also like Jane Austen. I also just finished Mansfield Park. I sometimes have trouble with the language. However, as an avid Dickens reader, it isn’t too terrible.
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I love reading stuff set in Medieval England, so I’ll have to check those out!
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What is the most recent book you’ve finished reading?
Since the May update, I’ve finished (click the title to read my “review” on Pinterest:
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (3.5 stars)
The Duke Is Mine by Eloisa James (DNF, 2 stars)
What are you currently reading?
Torchwood: Slow Decay by Andy Lane (a novel featuring the world/characters from the British TV sci-fi show Torchwood for a change of pace)
What’s the next book on your To Be Read stack?
I have several books on my wishlist and on my Kindle, but right now, I really need to focus on getting my next book started.
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Oh, and I forgot to mention, I spent the month judging 20 second-round semifinalist entries in the ACFW Genesis contest. There’s at least one that, if I can find out who wrote it, I’m going to see if she’ll send me the full!
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I am currently reading Crown of Slaves by David Weber, and a friend’s contracted manuscript to make sure she got all her fashion stuff right. So I’m going back and forth between military science fiction and 18th century historical romance.
Not sure what I’ll read next. Depends on my mood when I finish these.
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You should have seen the dissertation I wrote on my cover worksheet for B&H about the shape of the 1851 skirt and how adamant I was about NO HOOPSKIRTS!
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I am *very* proud of you! It bugs me to death when they stick a hoop on a cover when the hoop hadn’t been invented yet!
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I found Anne Tyler. Someone gave me a copy of NOAH’S COMPASS. Enjoyed it so much I looked up other books she has witten.
Just finished LADDER OF YEARS about a 40-year-old woman with three almost-grown children who while on a family vacation in Florida just walks away from her marriage and family. Hitches a ride and gets off in a small town, rents a room, gets a job and begins a new life. She had $500 of vacation money to get her started. She keeps the same name and her family find her. They were afraid she had been kidnapped. She says she just wanted to get away for a while. I couldn’t put the book down and read until 3:30 a.m. to finish it.
Reading WHEN WE WERE GROWNUPS funny and humurous, Rebecca wonders how her life had been different if she hadn’t married the man she did which changed her personality so much. Sweet story.
Next on the list is a story about another woman who wants to run away from her marriage, goes to the bank to get some money, a robber comes in and she is held hostage. That sounds interesting. Forget the title of the book, but I wrote it down somewhere.
Anne Tyler wrote THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST, I finished that recently too. Now I’ll watch the movie and compare. This is very funny in places.
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Wiser now
“just walks away from her marriage and family”
“wonders how her life had been different if she hadn’t married the man she did”
“wants to run away from her marriage”
I’m sensing a theme here…
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I’m sad to say the last book I finished was the debut novel To See the Sun by Peggy Blann Phifer, back in April! I enjoyed the book. It’s a contemporary romance with a suspense element about a young pregnant widow, and who killed her husband and parents. Not my normal reading material but it had a big hook in the beginning that sucked me in!
Since my daughter Amy was hospitalized and then passed away on Mother’s Day, I haven’t been able to even get interested in a book. I’ve picked up 5 different books, in three different genres, all to no avail. Big sigh…I miss reading
My TBR is quite large now, as several books came in the mail while she was in the hospital, so I don’t think I can just pick one to say I’m going to read next, at this point.
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Very sorry about your daughter. *hugs*
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Oh, Anne, I too am so sorry to hear about your daughter. Thoughts and prayers are with you. Maybe instead of reading, you can immerse yourself in story by pulling out some favorite movies. While it’s not the same as reading, it’s still an escape into fiction—and one that takes less effort/energy than reading.
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That’s what I’ve been doing, Kaye. It really does make a difference to just kind of zone out in tv/movie land.
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Anne so sorry for your loss.
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Just finished reading the upcoming book by Karen Kingsbury {the one that essentially wraps up the whole series she wrote…Coming Home}. I’m a bit mixed on it overall.
I’m currently reading through the Bible in 90 Days…so far 10% through. 🙂 I just started reading Prize of My Heart by Lisa Norato on my Kindle and have a whole bunch ‘stacked up’ to read when I’m finished with that one!
As far as ‘to be read’, I’m waiting on the book Submerged by Dani Pettrey ~ can’t wait to read it! 🙂
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I’ve read some . . . interesting reviews of the KK book, so I’ll be watching for yours, Jolanthe. Oh, and I’ll be interested in reading what you think of the Norato book, too. It’s another one that’s been on my radar.
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My sympathies to Anne on the loss of her daughter. My sister died a few months ago. Books have been my escape. Sometimes I wonder if I escape too often into the world of books but they do help me cope. I just this afternoon finished Stand By Me by Neta Jackson. Before that I read Jane Kirkpatrick’s The Daughter’s Walk. I’ve read several books by both authors and enjoy them. I have several in my “to be read” pile. I think I will probably read Tricia Goyer’s From Dust and Ashes next. I never lack for a good book to read. I’m very thankful for libraries!
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This Present Darkness/by Frank E Peretti has got to be one of my favorite books. Its got to a ten-out of ten!!!!
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I am currently reading Short Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer. It is a great book.
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That one is really high on my TBR list!
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I’m still looking forward to this book! It’s been one of my favorite series, so far.
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Next month, I need to add a reminder to this post with links to Amazon and B&N and CBD to remind people to go look for the free Christian fiction downloads—the beginning of the month is when a bunch of those go up. I always scan the Kindle Free Bestseller list and grab the books by the folks I know (and I know lots of them). Here are just a few available for free right now (links are to Amazon, but you can probably find them on B&N and ChristianBooks.com, too:
Loving Liza Jane (Little Hickman Creek Series #1) by Sharlene Maclaren
Gods and Kings, Chronicles of the Kings #1 by Lynn Austin
Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren
Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad
Cool Beans: A Maya Davis Novel with Bonus Content (Maya Davis Series) by Erynn Mangum
I’m sure there are more, but those were the ones I downloaded.
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I downloaded several of these today. Hoping one of them catches my eye long enough to finish 🙂
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Vessel Project does a daily update on free Christian Ebooks on both Kindle and Nook books. Sometimes even during a month you get a good one.
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I finished both The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson and The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones in the last week. Felt so *good* to burn through a couple stories like that (I’ve been having to train my mind back into consuming fiction– my attention span has been shot, and this was a major accomplishment).
HA was a romantic historical fiction take on Sleeping Beauty and FP was a world-crossing YA story strong on world-building and a solid opener for a series (plenty of set-up and still a satisfying ending).
The thing about not-reading (I’m learning) is that a writer feels much more alone if she doesn’t read. The reason I enjoyed these books so much was because (in different ways) they’re both similar to what I want to write.
I feel more hope (and therefore interest in) reading, and from that have more energy to write.
And Kaye, I don’t know how long you’ve had the pictures here (I’ve just kept up in a blog reader), but I *love* seeing the trios of matching covers of all your books. They’re just beautiful.
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Right now I’m reading ‘Love in Disguise’ by Carol Cox and ‘Save the Date’ by Jenny B. Jones. I’m really enjoying both but since I’m in a bit of a reading slump right now (NO reflection on these novels, more my lack of focus), it’s taking a bit to finish them.
Ruth
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i just finished “phantom” by susan kay— that fan fiction-turned-novel of phantom of the opera. i am in the middle of my yearly ‘les miserables’ re-read which always takes about a month. i think i am going to start ‘glamorous illusions’ next— it’s on my kindle
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I’m reading “This side of Heaven” by Karen Kingsbury, and “A Novel Idea – How to Write Inspirational Fiction” by various authors like Karen Kingsbury, Tedd Decker, Francine Rivers and the like.
And yet again… time allows for a section a day from one, and a chapter a day from the other.
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just finished Heaven Help Helen Sloane by JR Lucas–very very good. Contemporary, asks lots of good questions.
Started Hatteras Girl by Alice Wisler
TBR pile (the short list)- Wish you were here by Beth Vogt, River’s song by Melody Carlson, and some non fictions I’m avoiding
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