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Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
I hope everyone in the affected areas weathered Florence without too much disruption to your lives. I’ve never experienced a hurricane or a tornado, so find them both fascinating and horrifying. My week was a whirlwind, but just of activity, not weather. Back to School Night was Thursday and though I enjoy meeting parents, it makes for a really, really long day. On Saturday, my grandson turned one and family/friends celebrated with a big party. William was happy with all the activity, but didn’t care much about anything else. It’s amazing how fast a year goes!
Last Week’s Reads
It pains me to say it, but Kate Atkinson’s Transcription was a HUGE disappointment. Being that it was about a woman and her role during WWII (and 10 years later), I expected the same breathless excitement I got with Life After Life. It just didn’t happen. I felt bored more than anything. I’ll likely do a full review of Transcription, but I’m not sure when. On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to The Wildlands by Abby Geni. In fact, I had two hours left on Saturday morning and was so excited to drive to the birthday party, because the round trip takes exactly two hours! The story is unique, very well told and the narration by Carol Monda was terrific. I’ll be reviewing The Wildlands later this week.
Currently Reading
I felt like I was taking a bit of a chance on The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish by Katya Apekina. It’s from a smaller publishing house, Two Dollar Radio; you couldn’t get it on NetGalley or Edelweiss, but had to request a review copy directly from the publisher. At over halfway through, I’m thrilled to say it was well worth the risk. I’m loving this coming-of-age story about two teenage sisters sent to live with the father they’ve never really known after their mother tries to kill herself. It’s mainly told by the two girls, but MANY other people fill in parts of their story. I initially thought so many narrators might get annoying, but it really works. I’m excited to get back to this book.
Likely to Read Next
I let my HBO subscription go earlier this year and am already regretting it because of all the talk around their adaptation of Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. However, this is a book that I’ve never read, so I think I’m going to bridge the gap between reading and watching, by turning to the audiobook. I listened to the sample and liked what I heard, so plan to start listening this week. The Caregiver by Samuel Park will round out my September books. (Finally! It seems like I’ve had SO many this month.)
I hope you have a great week in books!
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We have Back to School Night on Thursday…I bet it is a long day for y’all!
So sorry Transcription was a disappointment…you know I wouldn’t have liked that one! And thrilled you enjoyed Wildlands and that it was good on audio!
I haven’t read Sharp Objects either…just Dark Places, which I didn’t particularly like. Maybe I’ll try Sharp Objects.
The only thing I dislike more than Back to School night is conferences! I feel like I say the same thing over and over and over.
Watching children grow definitely makes you realise how fast time can fly! Sorry to hear the newest Kate Atkinson proved to be a disappoint, but great to hear your other reads have been a contrast and greatly enjoyed.
Happy reading and a lovely week to you!
Thanks, Jade. You have a great week, too.
It’s disappointing to hear about your reaction to Kate Atkinson’s new book… unfortunately I’ve seen a couple of other reports that echo your feelings.
I hadn’t seen any real commentary on Transcription yet, but it makes me very sad that i didn’t like it. You might…let me know.
I was on the fence for the Atkinson . . . I may just let it go. Even though we don’t watch as much HBO as we used to, I’m glad we have it. Sharp Objects was really well done.
I imagine I’ll get to watching Sharp Objects eventually, but right now I’m enjoying the audio.
When Sharp Objects came to HBO, I was thrilled, as I recalled enjoying the book…way back in 2012!
I had the book in my Cloud and brought it down to Paige,my Oasis Kindle…with plans to read it again in the aftermath of the miniseries.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy Kate Atkinson’s newest book. I loved her Jackson Brodie series, but didn’t enjoy Life After Life…I guess you did, though.
Sometimes we connect to a story, while at other times we don’t.
Enjoy your week…and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
Wait…did you name your Kindle?
I haven’t read any of Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie books, but may need to try them.
I just finished Sharp Objects a week or so ago. I both loved it and shook my head at it, but it’s a good read in the end. Hope to watch the series now, too.
My list!
Nice to know you liked Sharp Objects. I’m about two hours in.
Nice variety of books. I have never had HBO and am a little jealous when people talk about great shows. I hope you enjoy Sharp Objects. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Thanks for stopping by Kathy.
So sorry to hear that about Kate Atkinson’s newest, especially since I have it to read!
I feel the same way about Wildlands on audio – excellent! I will finish it tomorrow.
We watched the first 2 episodes of Sharp Objects but life intervened and we need to get back to it now that our big event (wedding) is over.
Happy birthday to your grandson. They really do grow too fast! ❤️
Jan – Maybe you’ll like Transcription more than I did. I stayed with it, but just wasn’t left at all satisfied.
Glad you’ve made it through the wedding. I’m sure it was a beautiful day.
I grew up in Nebraska so tornado warnings were sort of…normal? Luckily, none ever hit close enough to us to cause damage.
Hope your reading is better this week. It’s never fun to be disappointed.
Thanks, Katherine. I hope you have a great reading week, too.
Wildlands is on my wishlist. My weekly updates
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that Transcription didn’t live up to Life After Life. I have a copy and just haven’t gotten to it. I will probably still give it a go but will DNF if I’m not liking it. I’m always so insecure about DNF’ing but chances are that if it didn’t work for you, it won’t work for me.
I hope you give Transcription a try. It may have just been me and I’d love to hear what someone i trust thinks of it.
I’ve never been in a hurricane, but we get tornados sometimes. They’re pretty cool to see (as long as they’re not near your stuff). Enjoy your upcoming reads. I saw the Sharp Objects show, but I didn’t like it enough to read the book. Have a great week!
You too, AJ. Thanks for stopping by.
I too am sorry to hear about Transcription as I’m so eagerly awaiting it. Did you read A God In Ruins? It’s Teddy’s story: Ursula’s brother. Loved it, it broke my heart.
The only Gillian Flynn book that really got me was Gone Girl. Here earlier stuff is just OK. And in some ways much weirder. Obviously she doesn’t have, or doesn’t want to attempt, another book and is cashing in on Hollywood.
Is it just me or is there a lot of stuff out there right now that borders on YA but bills itself as adult (or literary) fiction?
I did read A God in Ruins. I liked it, but not quite as much as Life After Life. You may really like Transcription. Either way though, I’d love to hear what you think of it.
I occasionally read something that feels a little too YA. (The Last Time I Lied is a good example.) The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish is definitely not at all YA. It has some very adult themes even though teens are at its heart. I finished it today and really, really liked it.
Have a great week!
Bummer about transcription! I loved life after life and a God and ruins 🙁
I loved Atkinson’s earlier WWII books, too, but this one….not so much.
Too bad about Transcription, ugh! But I’m glad you’ll be giving The Caregiver a try. Enjoy your week. ps. Perhaps you experienced the 1971 earthquake in Southern California? We lived in San Marino then and felt it. Pretty big. Yikes.