This link up happens the second Tuesday of every month.
The next one is Tuesday, March 8, 2016.
1. Please visit and comment with both of your hosts, Jana & me2. Please display the button (need it? let me know) or link back to us on your blog post
2. Please visit a few other blogs who've linked up and get some book talk going!
Here's what I read since the last linkup.
Engrossing Reads
Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf - I read this from beginning to end in a few hours. It was one of those. I hated the wife/narrator, but really liked the story even though it creeped me out a little.
The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins - This is one of my favorite types of books: the book written many years ago with no shits given for political correctness; a tale of business and fortune, luck and rich people. It was a little Kane and Abel-ish.
The Passenger by Lisa Lutz - ARC from Netgalley. I liked the writing and the plot and despite anything that happened, rooted for the main character. I also liked how the book was laid out and the sequence in which the author passed on information. The end felt a little rushed and anti-climactic but not enough to take away from my overall feeling on the book.
Passed the Time Just Fine
Tampa by Alissa Nutting - This is about a female pedophile. It is totally fucked up and insane and hard to read given the subject matter - but it's damn good writing. It might be the most fucked up book I've ever read as it basically shows you the mind of a pedophile and she is a total nightmare sociopath to boot, but these things do exist in our society. Given its graphic nature, this novel will never ascend to Lolita type levels of fame and I could probably talk for a while about what that means in regards to gender roles, but I won't. If you can stomach it, go ahead.
Under a Dark Summer Sky by Vanessa Lafaye - This almost read like a play to me. Or a soap opera. I liked it - the speed, the writing, a lot of the characters, and the plot. Worth the read.
Somebody I Used to Know by David Bell - I liked this but it had a lot of inconsistencies that I thought were a little too far fetched...and I'm not one who is unable to suspend belief. Still I sailed through it.
Hollywood by Zachary J. Ferrara - For a while I wondered if it was going to amount to anything other than smoking cigs, drinking, drugs, and feeling young and invincible and thinking too much and being angsty. This reeks of early 20s angst and I probably would have identified with it a lot more then.
The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins - This is one of my favorite types of books: the book written many years ago with no shits given for political correctness; a tale of business and fortune, luck and rich people. It was a little Kane and Abel-ish.
The Passenger by Lisa Lutz - ARC from Netgalley. I liked the writing and the plot and despite anything that happened, rooted for the main character. I also liked how the book was laid out and the sequence in which the author passed on information. The end felt a little rushed and anti-climactic but not enough to take away from my overall feeling on the book.
Passed the Time Just Fine
Tampa by Alissa Nutting - This is about a female pedophile. It is totally fucked up and insane and hard to read given the subject matter - but it's damn good writing. It might be the most fucked up book I've ever read as it basically shows you the mind of a pedophile and she is a total nightmare sociopath to boot, but these things do exist in our society. Given its graphic nature, this novel will never ascend to Lolita type levels of fame and I could probably talk for a while about what that means in regards to gender roles, but I won't. If you can stomach it, go ahead.
Under a Dark Summer Sky by Vanessa Lafaye - This almost read like a play to me. Or a soap opera. I liked it - the speed, the writing, a lot of the characters, and the plot. Worth the read.
Somebody I Used to Know by David Bell - I liked this but it had a lot of inconsistencies that I thought were a little too far fetched...and I'm not one who is unable to suspend belief. Still I sailed through it.
Hollywood by Zachary J. Ferrara - For a while I wondered if it was going to amount to anything other than smoking cigs, drinking, drugs, and feeling young and invincible and thinking too much and being angsty. This reeks of early 20s angst and I probably would have identified with it a lot more then.
Hard No
I tried to read My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Has anyone read the first book in the Neopolitan Novels trilogy? People rave about it but I find the look back into childhood really fucking boring and hard to get through.
Non-bloggers, what have you read recently? Let me know what you recommend and what to stay away from. Bloggers, link up your posts below.
