Weekly Reading Round-Up

This has been a rather eclectic book week for me, spanning a number of genres.

— Elizabeth Peters, The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits.

I remembered why this one doesn’t make it back into the re-read rotation very frequently. Not that it’s bad– it’s just not up to the level of her others.

— Patti Callahan Henry, Coming Up for Air.

A woman discovers truths about herself by delving into her mother’s past.

— Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire.

I know, I know, I’m only the last person in the continental U.S. to get around to reading the rest of the Hunger Games trilogy. There was a bit of deja vu in seeing the Games all over again, but it was still a compelling book.

— Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay.

I liked the way it eventually ended, but had mixed feelings about the way it got there.

— Michelle Moran, Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution.

I’ve only just started this one, so more on Madame Tussaud next week.

What have you been reading?

29 Comments

  1. Jennifer on January 27, 2012 at 12:54 pm

    Just finished Laurie King’s “A Letter of Mary” (Book the third in the Mary Russel/Sherlock Holmes series.) This is such an amazing series! Books 1-3 took me 4 days, much to the detriment of cleaning my house.

  2. Stephanie Ball on January 27, 2012 at 1:24 pm

    I just read the Wallflower series from Lisa Kleypas. (cute and light fun, 4 wallflowers agree to help each other find husbands)

    As well as Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. Very cute and fun.

    Just did the Duke and I by Julia Quinn as well..

    Also the Thirteenth Tale .. Kinda weird but very good with a twist at the end i didn’t see coming.

  3. AngelB on January 27, 2012 at 3:06 pm

    Finished Voyager and I am officially taking a break from Jamie & Claire for a while. Love them to death…but I’m ready for a break.

    And break I did: I’ve read so many little romance/trash this week…haha

    Wish On the Moon by Karen Rose Smith – dragged a bit.

    Here to Stay by Debra Webb – Another book of “why don’t people just talk to one another”

    The Black Duke’s Prize by Suzanne Enoch – I actually liked this. Good chemistry between the two main characters.

    The Ugly Duckling Debutante by Rachel Van Dyken – standard

    Deadly Sanctuary by Sylvia Nobel – good mystery

    Return to Paradise by Carol Grace – good easy read

  4. Tracie on January 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

    Sadly, I’ve had very little reading time in the last few weeks because I’ve been so busy with my own book release. As a reward for getting over that hurdle, I treated myself to “Unscripted,” a Chick Lit novel written by Natalie Aaron and Marla Schwartz. The writers are producers on reality TV, so the book is set in that world. I chuckled my whole way through Unscripted. It was really funny and the heroine, Abby, was just my type of girl, self-deprecating and snarky, but goodhearted, and I really rooted for her. There was a nice little romance for Abby that developed slowly and deliciously throughout the book and had a nice pay-off in the end.

    Anyone heard anything about “Everneath,” the new YA novel by Brodi Ashton? I don’t read a ton of books in that genre, but I was very intrigued when I saw that “Everneath” is based on the Persephone story. I love me some Greek mythology!

  5. Anne Smittle on January 27, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    “Dead Reckoning”….again. Charlaine Harris says Sookie Stackhouse is on her way out, so I’ve got to be up to date for the next (last?) book. And another one by I believe Julie Klassen, Jane Eyre and Jane Austen fanatic, “The Maid of Fairbourne Hall.” A young lady schemes to get out of a forced marriage and becomes a maidservant. After watching “Downton Abbey,” I had to read it.

  6. Am7 on January 27, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    So many people read so much! I am impressed!
    I only read one book this week:
    Virgin River by Robyn Carr First in the Virgin River
    Really liked it but not loved it quite. It was sort of the standard small town romance only the depth in the material and the quality of the writing elevated it a lot. Not quite recommending but I liked it enough to continue with the series.

  7. Am7 on January 27, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    Lauren I haven’t read Hunger Games yet but its in my TBR pile. Have you read Harry Potter? I so recommend.

  8. Sheila on January 27, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    The Death of Kings, by Bernard Cornwell. He is one of my absolute favs, but this series is getting a trifle redundant, altho still a page turner because Cornwell is just sooo good. For a change of pace I am reading The Notorious Marriage, by Nicola Cornick, an author I find I can rely on for humor, great plots and interesting characters.

  9. aniko on January 27, 2012 at 4:56 pm

    I’m actually reading He’s Just Not That Into You. I NEVER read these books! How surprising it is to find what a fun, upbeat, cheerleading, funny, shot-in-the-arm this book is! Somehow I get the feeling that more women have been soothed by this book than a dozen therapists combined. Very amusing. (I had been expecting cynicism and snark with a dark attitude.)

    I also started recently Charlaine Harris’s Shakespeare’s Landlord which, like her Sookie series, is very engaging right from the beginning.

  10. Sara Ganung on January 27, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    I’m re-reading The Count of Monte Cristo 🙂 one of my all time favorites! Anything by Kate Morton I love! I still haven’t read The Hunger Games, I know, I know! But will eventually get to it 🙂

  11. AngelB on January 27, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    Just have to share. B&N had the entire Gemma Holiday High Heel Mysteries on sale for $2.99. These books have been on my wish list for a while so I’m quite giddy at the moment to get all 5!

  12. AngelB on January 27, 2012 at 5:21 pm

    That’s HAS not had. 🙂 Oops

  13. Elizabeth (aka Miss Eliza) on January 27, 2012 at 5:40 pm

    I agree Lauren, I liked where Mockingjay ended, just not how it got there.

    I finished The Girl Who PLayed with Fire and enjoyed it more than the first, but just too many characters to keep track of.

    The I read Shades of Milk & Honey, which EVERYONE here should read. It’s very much a Jane Austen mash-up in the best way with magic. Also, the magic that is created is so interesting. I can’t wait for the sequel in a few months.

    Last night I started And Only to Deceive… and almost couldn’t put it down… I can see why so many love the series.

  14. April on January 27, 2012 at 5:50 pm

    I am reading Les Liaisons Dangereuses (in English my French is not that good). Can’t believe this is the first time to read it. I’ve never even seen the movie. That will come next.

  15. Elizabeth (aka Miss Eliza) on January 27, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    Oh April, when you get to watching the movie, don’t forget the Colin Firth version, Valmont!

  16. AmyN on January 27, 2012 at 9:09 pm

    Getting towards the end of “The Lost Dauphin” which is full of stuff I didn’t know about the French Revolution — there’s so much more than the standard old black/white movie and then Bonaparte’s story that follows. And how truly terrifying the revolution was for the French — so similar to the Inquisition and Witch trials.

    What a tragic story for young Louis-Charles and his sister Marie Therese. I agree with Lauren that this is a very interesting book, fiction well worth reading. When I finish I’ll move on to a book just about Marie Therese.

  17. Joanne M. on January 27, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    To Marry an English Lord (MacColl) — a pictorial/anecdotal history of the Buccaneers, rich American heiresses who traveled abroad to find husbands among the nobility. Fascinating and fun to read.

    Also found a terrific paranormal/romantic suspense series by Amanda Stevens. (The Graveyard Queen series). A young archaeologist restores old graveyards in Charleston, South Carolina and she is able to communicate with ghosts. It has a very sexy, southern gothic vibe. I’ve read The Restorer and an advanced copy of The Kingdom. Loved them both!

  18. Tracie on January 28, 2012 at 12:12 am

    Lauren and others who are interested in reading “Entwined” by Heather Dixon (the book was mentioned in the fairy tale thread), I just discovered that the Kindle version of the book is only .99 at Amazon right now. As this book was just released last year, I was stunned to see it offered at such a low price. So, I snatched it right up! Can’t wait to read!

  19. Tracie on January 28, 2012 at 7:25 am

    Lauren & others who are interested in reading “Entwined” by Heather Dixon (the book was mentioned in the fairy tale thread), I just discovered that the Kindle version is only .99 at Amazon right now. As this book was just released last year, I was stunned to see it offered at such a low price. So, I snatched it right up! Can’t wait to read!

  20. HJ on January 28, 2012 at 7:34 am

    Like AngelB, I’ve just read The Black Duke’s Prize by Suzanne Enoch. I’ve wanted to read this, and her Angel’s Devil, for years but they were virtually unobtainable in print. Now they’re out in digital so I sanpped them up as soon as I realised!

    I enjoyed both of them, especially Angel’s Devil. I’m now re-reading my favorite book by Suzanne Enoch – My Lady Rogue – which I adore.

  21. Céline on January 28, 2012 at 9:23 am

    As for me, I finally finished Outlander and I really really loved it!

    Then, I started Persuade Me, by Juliet Archer, one of the best modern retelling of Persuasion, so true to the book that I really have the feeling I’m reading Persuasion again! It’s really good ans now, I’m curious to read the other book in her Jane Austen series, The Importance of Being Emma…

    Lauren, and all the historical novel lovers, have you seen that the cover of second installment in Juliet’s Grey trilogy about Marie-Antoinette has been unveiled? It’s absolutely beautiful!!

    And… I wanted to add that no, you’re not the only ones not having read Hunger Games, Lauren, Sara and Am7, because I haven’t either. I’m a bit afraid, actually, of the subject and have never been keen on dystopies, so I’m still wondering if I’ll read the trilogy…

    April, I absolutely love Les Liaisons dangereuses, it’s possibly one of the books I’ve re-read the most as a teenager! I plan to read it again somewhere this year!!!
    (and I love The Count of Monte-Cristo too!)
    Sorry for the long post, I felt chatty today! 🙂

  22. Kristen A. on January 28, 2012 at 9:55 am

    I think Catching Fire was my favorite of the trilogy. The stakes were higher than in The Hunger Games (I can elaborate but don’t want to spoil it for anybody who will experience it first as a movie), and I too had mixed feelings about Mockingjay.

    This week I read WLT: A Radio Romance by Garrison Keillor. It wasn’t one of my favorites, but I think I’m starting to figure out which of his books work best for me. I like the shorter novels that cover a more specific story, but have trouble getting into his longer ones that cover somebody’s or something’s entire history (like WLT), and his short story collections start to bore me if I read them straight through, although I’d probably like any one of the stories in them if heard alone as a News from Lake Wobegone segment.

    I also started reading MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche.

  23. Joanne M. on January 28, 2012 at 2:33 pm

    I’m reading a fun pictorial/anecdotal history called To Marry An English Lord (MacColl), based on the American heiresses who traveled abroad to marry English noblemen. (The character of Cora in Downton Abbey was inspired by these stories.)

  24. AmyN on January 28, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    Finishing up “The Lost Dauphin” — so much information about the revolution. I had no idea that the French supported the US Revolution, that King Louis actually tried to remedy his country’s finances, that the royals were kept captive so long and that the Terror was so like other historical events such as the Inquisition, Germany’s darkness, etc. And how heartbreaking to hear about how Louis and Marie-Antoinette’s children were treated after their parents deaths. I’m so intrigued by what I’ve read I am going to read a book about Marie Therese next. Thanks for recommending Lauren!

  25. AmyN on January 28, 2012 at 8:48 pm

    I keep posting and it doesn’t show…one last try…

    Finishing up “The Lost Dauphin” — so much information about the revolution. I had no idea that the French supported the US Revolution, that King Louis actually tried to remedy his country’s finances, that the royals were kept captive so long and that the Terror was so like other historical events such as the Inquisition, Germany’s darkness, etc. And how heartbreaking to hear about how Louis and Marie-Antoinette’s children were treated after their parents deaths. I’m so intrigued by what I’ve read I am going to read a book about Marie Therese next. Thanks for recommending Lauren!

  26. leslie on January 28, 2012 at 9:41 pm

    Edith Wharton’s “The Buccaneers” is a wonderful story about American Heiress’ going to England for husbands. It was made into a PBS Masterpiece Theatre in the early 90’s. Both are great.
    I just love Susan Enoch! Thanks for the e-book mention.
    Haven’t read “Hunger Games”, subject matter freaks me out!
    Starting “Night Circus”, just finished reading “A Place Called Home” by Jo Goodman. Easy reading, nice characters.

  27. Joanne M. on January 30, 2012 at 10:37 am

    Thank you for this great list! I’ve taken notes….I have The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West and Howards End by E. M. Forster on my TBR list.

  28. Bridget Erin on January 30, 2012 at 12:48 pm

    I loved the Hunger Games Trilogy, but I felt like Mockingjay had a lot going on and then abruptly ended. I wanted more!

    I read Janet Evonavich’s (sorry about the spelling) One for the Money. I am now hooked on Stephanie Plum! It was a quick read and left me wanting the rest of the series!

  29. Shannon on January 31, 2012 at 3:23 pm

    I’m almost done with Mockingjay, I started the series last week.

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