April Discussion Post
Apr. 18th, 2023 05:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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thestoryinside
It's time for our monthly discussion post! This post will remain open for you to contribute at any time, so no pressure. Even if you didn't get around to reading any of your selected books or opted out of participating for the month, you're still more than welcome to take part in the discussion.
Please copy and paste this in the comments!
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Date: 2023-04-28 02:46 pm (UTC)What books were chosen for you? Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, As You Wish by Cary Elwes, and Q in Law by Peter David
Did you manage to read your books? Which ones? I listened to the audiobook for As You Wish and I'm most of the way through Q in Law
If you read more than one, did you enjoy them? What was your favorite? I really loved As You Wish, and the audiobook was a great choice. Elwes is the main reader but some of the people who contributed were able to read their contributions, so that was really cool! Q in Law is much shakier. It's a lot more gender essentialist than I was expecting, but I think a lot of that has to do with it being published in 1991. I wanted to read Mystic River, too, but life (and my own inability to manage my time) got in the way...
Would you recommend your chosen book(s)? I would! Especially As You Wish. Q in Law is fun but not my favorite media tie-in book. Though if you're a big Q fan it's a good time.
Did you read anything else this month, outside of your chosen books? I read The Digital Closet by Alexander Monea and I'm also currently reading A Restless Truth by Freya Marske. After I finished As You Wish, I started the audiobook for Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout, which is weird and creepy and read by Pedro Pascal
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Date: 2023-04-30 06:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-29 04:40 pm (UTC)What books were chosen for you?Choice 1: Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian (thriller/male author)
Choice 2: Mörderinnen: Fälle aus der Praxis eines Strafverteidigers by Veikko Bartel (non-fiction)
Choice 3: Spare by Prince Harry (non-fiction/male author)
Did you manage to read your books? Which ones?I read "Mörderinnen" and am currently reading "Hour of the Witch", but am probably not going to finish it by tomorrow.
If you read more than one, did you enjoy them? What was your favorite?"Mörderinnen" was alright, even though the author seemed like a bit of a chauvinist in the way he was writing about the female subjects of his book. (It was about female murderers, fyi). I am a little over halfway through "Hour of the Witch" and I like it a lot.
Would you recommend your chosen book(s)?I would, "Hour of the Witch" more than "Mörderinnen".
Did you read anything else this month, outside of your chosen books? Yes!
- "Der Kater, der nicht reden wollte" (The Tomcat who Wouldn't Talk) by Eva Berberich
- "Claudine Married" by Colette
- "One Day In December" by Josie Silver (recommended)
- "Mindset" by Sebastian Hotz
- "Waldgrab" (Forest Grave) by Erik Axl Sund (recommended if you like dark psychological thrillers)
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Date: 2023-04-29 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-01 03:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-29 07:35 pm (UTC)What books were chosen for you?
Choice 1:"Inciting Joy: Essays" - Ross Gay (non-fiction)
Choice 2:"Mexican Gothic" - Silvia Moreno-Garcia (thriller)
Choice 3:"The Wright Brothers" - David McCullough
Did you manage to read your books? Which ones?
I finished Mexican Gothic and am currently reading Inciting Joy
If you read more than one, did you enjoy them? What was your favorite?
I really loved Mexican Gothic. A rare 5-star rating from me. It was so unique yet so trope-y at the same time. I'm not finished with Inciting Joy, but am rather ambivalent about it - there are some bits that are good, but overall it's not resonating with me much.
Would you recommend your chosen book(s)? Mexican Gothic, yes! Not so sure on the other yet.
Did you read anything else this month, outside of your chosen books? Yes :)
Revan by Drew Karpyshyn (for
The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel by Kati Marton
The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner
Mercury Retrograde by Laura Bickle
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
no subject
Date: 2023-05-01 04:03 pm (UTC)"The London Séance Society" & "The Family Upstairs" are on my list as well.
Also, as a German I am really curious what you thought of the Angela Merkel book? :)
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Date: 2023-05-02 01:59 am (UTC)I enjoyed the Merkel book. I hadn't really known much about her before reading it. I hadn't realized she grew up in East Germany or was a scientist, for example, so the book was a good overview of her life. At the same time, it didn't really dig into her policies and the negotiations she led as much as I might've wanted. It talked about them and tried to frame her intent, but I felt the author was trying to seem unbiased (without really succeeding). Anyway, the result is that while I can't say I learned much about her politics- the book was an interesting read and she's a rather interesting woman.
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Date: 2023-05-02 04:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-30 06:26 am (UTC)What books were chosen for you? Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson, Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik and How it Happened by Michael Koryta.
Did you manage to read your books? Which ones? I only read the first two and was sidetracked from the third by a fresh release I really, really wanted to read ASAP.
If you read more than one, did you enjoy them? What was your favorite? I enjoyed both books. Love, Pamela was certainly shocking as I didn't know much about her besides the red swimsuit and the tales of the infamous tape. To hear her story in her own words, to read what she's endured from a young age on ... wow. Girl in Ice was all in all enjoyable, though some parts more than others. I liked the suspense and I absolutely loved the Greenlandic setting, as the cold and bleak environment was conveyed well. However, I wanted more background on the icewinds and why exactly the villain did what he did.
Would you recommend your chosen book(s)? Yes to both!
Did you read anything else this month, outside of your chosen books? Not as much as I would have liked...
☛ "The Love Wager" by Lynn Painter
☛ "The Fires" by Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir
☛ "Yours Truly" by Abby Jimenez
☛ "These Silent Woods" by Kimi Cunningham Grant
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Date: 2023-04-30 02:25 pm (UTC)What books were chosen for you? Still Waters by Viveca Sten, Freddie Mercury: Shadows Illuminated by Tres Dean, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Did you manage to read your books? Which ones? I read Freddie Mercury: Shadows Illuminated and Great Expectations
If you read more than one, did you enjoy them? What was your favorite? For the sake of your sanity, please DO NOT read Freddie Mercury: Shadows Illuminated. The art work is AWFUL - just see it yourself: https://imgur.com/LMeVCrW
So by default Great Expectations was the better book out of those two. My absolute favourite Dickens book is the The Bleak House but this was okay
Would you recommend your chosen book(s)? If you didn't guess it already, big NO for the Freddie book and yes for the Dickens
Did you read anything else this month, outside of your chosen books? I read Formula One: The Champions: 70 years of legendary F1 drivers and Vehkalahden neidot by Kaari Utrio
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Date: 2023-05-02 03:30 am (UTC)What books were chosen for you?The Widow by Fiona Barton, The American Girl by Kate Horsley, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Stevenson
Did you manage to read your books? Which ones? I managed to read the first two books. I have yet to get to the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but that is the next book, I am going to read.
If you read more than one, did you enjoy them? What was your favorite?So far The Widow by Fiona Barton is my favorite
Would you recommend your chosen book(s)? I would recommend the two I am reading.
Did you read anything else this month, outside of your chosen books?As Old As Time and A Court of Wings and Ruin