BIC book club!

[prettyinpa]

Some of us here have expressed an interest in a book club, myself, @mermadelove, @LCResz, @ZombieMetroAnt, @Mcakes. If you'd be interested in joining, reply below. My initial thought was to mail the books around but if it means that some people can't participate, then I'm all for dropping that requirement. I'd love this to be a place where we nominate our favorite book and others can read it and comment. Something fun for the new year!  ETA: the booklist:

1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (16)
1. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (16)
3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (13)
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (11)
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (11)
4. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (11)
7. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (10)
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (10)
7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (10) Discussion begins 8-13.
7. The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck (10) Discussion begin 9-2.
11. The Fault in our Stars by John Green (9) Time to discuss 9-26
11. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (9) Now discussing below.
11. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (9)
11. What Happened by Hilary Clinton (9) Now discussing below.
11. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (9) Start reading now.
11. The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Ashford (9)
11. milk and honey by Rupi Kaur (9)
18. A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (8)
18. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (8)
18. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (8)
18. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (8)
18. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence (8)
18. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (8)
18. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (8)
18. The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg (8)
18. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (8)
18. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (8)
18. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (8)
18. The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory (8)

Participants in spoiler

Spoiler

Participants:

PrettyinPA

AlexaSteph

Beadshopgirl

LCResz

Kim888

SoBeautiful

Fatimamummy

ZombieMetroAnt

PalomaFoster

k617

bakeamuffin
Susubee
Skcfan
Lazybeautybeast
SpaceLlama
greeneyedgirl107

Mermadelove
Mcakes
Aaliaa
Serenely
Myinsidevoice
MissPuff
juliehnguyen
lmi82
Knowledgebeauty
Titian06
quspork
darlyndar
KellW
misscg
EuniceO
Elles117
ClassicallyFab
ShiraBT
melanito
Heylady14
ChicagoEngineer
Imightneedthis
PrettyPaint
rachface2921

[blackkitty2014]

I haven’t read for fun for a long long time. It’s always reading a technical books or something I need to learn for work. Couple months back I was watching Joe Pickett on Paramount+. I enjoyed the first season and everyone said how much better the books are. So I picked up one….and now I’m on book 10. 😂🤣 so Yes I’m flying through CJ Box’s Joe Pickett book series. 

[Kim888]

I've been on a Ruth Ware kick - I recently finished The Lying Game and It girl. I love a good mystery! 

[quspork]

I love Ruth Ware's books, @Kim888! Both The Lying Game and It Girl were good. Have you read any of her others? I need to grab the most recent one before vacation. 

[Kim888]

@quspork    I also read Death of Mrs. Westaway but I wasn’t really a fan of that one.

Woman in cabin 10 is next on my list, I’m waiting on it from the library! 

Which was your favorite ?

[quspork]

@Kim888 Hmmm, if had to choose a favorite- maybe One by One, because that one sticks out in my memory. In a Dark, Dark Wood is pretty good too though. I will say if you didn't care for Mrs. Westaway as much, Turn of the Key is really similar to that one. Those two are a bit more atmospheric with weaker stories IMO. 

[Mellmars1185]

I just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. My next book to read is called Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover.

[curlychiquita]

I enjoyed The Midnight Library, @Mellmars1185.

[Mellmars1185]

@curlychiquita I felt like it taught me a lesson that will stick with me 

[SportyGirly125]

Reading the Summer I Turned Pretty triology 

Also reading Anatomy Trains 

[PrettyPaint]

@SportyGirly125  My daughter is reading these. Maybe I’ll have to borrow them from her once she is finished! 

[SportyGirly125]

@PrettyPaint @The print is big. It’s a total of 880 pages so an easy read. I’m trying to finish all 3 in a week but I am also watching the show. 

[PrettyPaint]

@SportyGirly125  Big print sounds nice! I'm weird and have to read books before I watch the show or movie version, so I guess I better get going!

[SportyGirly125]

@PrettyPaint @I’m reading at the same time. So in a sense I’m behind but ahead. 

[ShirleyLomanto]

Hey everyone, just wanted to share that I recently finished reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and I absolutely loved it! The story had me hooked from the start, and I found myself fully invested in the lives of the characters and their intricate relationships. The setting of the Roaring Twenties was beautifully depicted, and I appreciated how the novel explored the themes of love, wealth, and the American Dream. Overall, I thought The Great Gatsby was a captivating read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves classic literature.

[SportyGirly125]

Just finished Fire and Blood because I am watching House of the Dragon. 

[alexasteph]

Alright, let's goooooo (I got behind on this for a variety of reasons)

Finished: A Game of Fate, A Darker Shade of Magic, Verity

Upcoming: Cleopatra's Dagger, The Paris Apartment 

Thoughts: A Game of Fate 4/5 for spice and escapism. A Darker Shade of Magic 5/5 for developing an interesting and fascinating world, with a compelling fantasy plot. Verity 3/5 for being underwhelmed by the ending (which is unfortunate because I was quite enjoying the lead up).

I need to try to get through four, maybe 5 books before April's end! 

Update after Cleopatra's Dagger and The Paris Apartment.

[cianni]

@alexasteph Ahhh boo for verity! I just finished it ends with us and it starts with us back to back and Verity was next on my Colleen Hoover list! Any other CH you would recommend over it?

[Titian06]

@alexasteph - I read the Silent Patient this weekend.  OMGosh!  That was an excellent book!  I actually read the chapter with the plot twist twice because I thought I misread it the first time. 🤣  

I read a few other books since the last time I posted.

- The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells:  This one did not live up to its potential.  I was disappointed. 

- Double Cross: Deception Techniques in War:  This was interesting, but not for everyone.

- Murder on Cold Street: A Lady Sherlock Mystery:  This one was interesting.  There's about 6 books in this series so far.  In this series Sherlock Holmes is a woman.  @alexasteph , I know you like romance.  If I recall correctly, the author of these books also writes romances.  Based on how good she is with the romance in this series, she should be a good romance writer.

- Miss Moriarty, I Presume: A Lady Sherlock Mystery:  This book was rather disappointing.  It read like the author was fulfilling a contract requirement ("one more book...I just have to write one more book and I'm done!")

- The Gilded Edge:  This was so not worth it!  It read like a research paper AND with too much of the author's opinion.  She didn't know whether it should be historical fiction or nonfiction, so she merged the two together.

- The Prisoners of Breendonk:  Definitely worth reading.  The abuse suffered by Jews and other so-called "subhumans" must be remembered so this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN! 

- Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies:  I'm currently reading this book.  I took a break from the book so I could read Silent Patient.  This book is interesting, but very dry reading...not for everyone.

[alexasteph]

@Titian06 Ooh! The Lady Sherlock ones sound fun! I love the Sherlock Holmes stories, so if these are a well done twist on them they would be worth checking out. The non-fiction ones you’ve mentioned sound interesting too, I’ll add them to my list. Thanks! 

[alexasteph]

Ooooookay some updates/reviews/up nexts:

Recently finished: The Inheritance Games and Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door (both were mentioned already in a post below as well as Monthly Favorites: February 2022 Edition! )

Currently reading: The Silent Patientby Alex Michaelides and A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab 

Up next: Cleopatra's Dagger by Carole Lawrence and A Game of Fate by Scarlett St. Clair 

What I will say about my recently finished: Uuuuuh I have two new book boyfriends and their names are Jameson Hawthorne (TIG) and Nick Santiago (RTaTDGND) and did I ask my coworker who is very intro astrology who mentioned something about tomorrow I can manifest my desires and I said "Can I manifest a book boyfriend" and she said "Sure" so that's where we are at. There are two more TIG books (the third is yet to be released) and a sequel to RTatDGNG so I can't wait to read those as I work through my TBR.

What I will say about my currently reading: Am I going to cheat on Jameson and Nick with Kell (ADSoM)? It's possible. 

Do I want a real boyfriend? Yes. I digress.

But let's talk a little more seriously about it (the books... not my lack of a dating life, this is not the time or the place).

The Silent Patient: I am about halfway through and enjoying this story very much. A woman is admitted to a psychiatric hospital after (allegedly) killing her husband and has not spoken a single word since. It's curious, dark, interesting, very psychologically driven. When I was young, my first favorite and re-read book was Girl, Interrupted so this sorta kinda a little bit feel likes a more grown up version but a different style. I also loved Go Ask Alice (it's no wonder I studied Psychology and Criminology in college...), and there are elements of that in this book as well. I have mentioned it before, but I love trying to picture who would play each character if the book were made in to a movie... for this I picture Andrew Scott as the narrator and Jodie Comer as the subject. 

A Darker Shade of Magic: This is the first in the Shades of Magic series... a parallel worlds fantasy where magic exists in freely in one, is used for power and control in another, has completely destroyed a third, and is unknown in the fourth (and is the closest to our real world). Few people are able to travel between each world (or city really... it's London), and they try to keep the peace and order between the worlds to a maximum and chaos to a minimum. It's fascinating and exciting. While I am currently reading it through Kindle Unlimited, I will be purchasing the full series as physical copies.

My Up Next's includes my March selection from Amazon First Reads and a retelling of Persephone and Hades from Hades' perspective because I have a thing for bad boys, apparently.