Wednesday Reading Meme
But first, a non-update on the postal strike. It's still ongoing. I think we're on Day 19 or something like that. Quickly reaching the point where cards, even sent as soon as the strike ends, won't arrive on time.
I'll update if anything changes.
Wednesday Reading Meme
What I Just Finished Reading: Four books last week! The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne (dusty bookshelf), Looking Glass Sound (prompt, replacing The Rising by Heather Graham, which was a DNF), The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette (dusty bookshelf), and More Than This (gridlock, which is going to replace dusty bookshelf in 2025). I also DNF'ed The Arrivals by Melissa Marr, that I'd picked up on a whim at the library. Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm just starting Remainders of the Day, the third and last book in the Diary of a Bookseller series.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: I'm going to finish off the Goodreads picks. So next up will be Baal by Robert McCammon (dusty bookshelf) and The Prince and the Apocalypse (also dusty bookshelf). I also picked up a book called Until Tuesday at the library about a dog who helps a soldier with PTSD, so hopefully I can fit that one in too. :)
139. The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne
Sloan McPherson comes from a family of modern-day treasure hunters, with one rogue uncle who took things a bit too far and became a smuggler. She’s now working part-time as a police diver, where she’s paired with the ex-cop who was responsible for putting her uncle away.
The mystery here involves murder, smuggling and various initial-laden entities, but it was the characters who held my interest. Sloan’s background was seamlessly integrated into the story. The last half of the book is intense and fast-paced as the good guys and the bad guys race to the conclusion.
First of a series and I will definitely be continuing.
Dates Read: November 26 to 28, 2024
Page Count: 328
4 out of 5 stars
140. Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
This one is difficult to talk about with spoiling all over the place, which I don’t want to do.
The book starts out a riveting 5-star read. Wilder, Harper, and Nat are three teens summering in Maine who quickly form deep friendships, but whose summer is threaded with tension: Wilder’s parents relationship is tense, his dad is hiding something, there’s been a stalker sneaking into homes and taking photos of children as they sleep, and a woman has gone missing. All of this is a fascinating read.
The second half of the book picks up with Wilder in college, and the third back in Maine 20 years later. By this point there are multiple narrators and things get needlessly confusing. There comes a time when there are simply too many layers to a story, where you have to strip things back instead of adding more wood to the pile. Eliminating just a single element would have made all the difference in making this story more cohesive and entertaining.
Dates Read: November 29 to 30, 2024
Page Count: 345
3 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Bingo - G49 (25/25) * Complete!
141. The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette
Seven strangers awaken to discover that they are alone in their towns, which have mysteriously become overgrown with vegetation and animal life seemingly overnight.
I enjoyed this one. Our heroes are baffled to be alone in an abandoned and decrepit city. They work to come together and decipher what clues they can to discover what has happened to everyone else. I liked the theories that were put forth, though the character development was on the simple side. I did especially enjoy the addition of a blind character and her solution to one of their issues with roving bands of wolves. The ending was a let-down, though.
Dates Read: November 30 to December 01, 2024
Page Count: 363
4 out of 5 stars
142. More Than This by Patrick Ness
After a teen dies, he wakes up in his old hometown, now abandoned and overgrown. The only thing he has in common with the two people he meets are that they also died in the same manner, so the trio put their heads together to figure out what happened while also being stalked by a mysterious man.
Chapters alternate between Seth’s current predicament and memories from his life, and I was instantly captivated by his family hardships and his friendships. I also adored the duo he meets in his hometown, especially Tomasz. Ness had his cadence down perfectly, and I loved his enthusiasm.
My only complaint would be that the reader realllllly doesn’t know what’s going on at the end. The group has a theory they are about to test, but it felt off to me. I wish there’d been a little more clarity, though I appreciate the hopeful ending.
Date Read: December 02, 2024
Page Count: 480
4 out of 5 stars
.
I'll update if anything changes.
Wednesday Reading Meme
What I Just Finished Reading: Four books last week! The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne (dusty bookshelf), Looking Glass Sound (prompt, replacing The Rising by Heather Graham, which was a DNF), The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette (dusty bookshelf), and More Than This (gridlock, which is going to replace dusty bookshelf in 2025). I also DNF'ed The Arrivals by Melissa Marr, that I'd picked up on a whim at the library. Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm just starting Remainders of the Day, the third and last book in the Diary of a Bookseller series.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: I'm going to finish off the Goodreads picks. So next up will be Baal by Robert McCammon (dusty bookshelf) and The Prince and the Apocalypse (also dusty bookshelf). I also picked up a book called Until Tuesday at the library about a dog who helps a soldier with PTSD, so hopefully I can fit that one in too. :)
139. The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne
Sloan McPherson comes from a family of modern-day treasure hunters, with one rogue uncle who took things a bit too far and became a smuggler. She’s now working part-time as a police diver, where she’s paired with the ex-cop who was responsible for putting her uncle away.
The mystery here involves murder, smuggling and various initial-laden entities, but it was the characters who held my interest. Sloan’s background was seamlessly integrated into the story. The last half of the book is intense and fast-paced as the good guys and the bad guys race to the conclusion.
First of a series and I will definitely be continuing.
Dates Read: November 26 to 28, 2024
Page Count: 328
4 out of 5 stars
140. Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
This one is difficult to talk about with spoiling all over the place, which I don’t want to do.
The book starts out a riveting 5-star read. Wilder, Harper, and Nat are three teens summering in Maine who quickly form deep friendships, but whose summer is threaded with tension: Wilder’s parents relationship is tense, his dad is hiding something, there’s been a stalker sneaking into homes and taking photos of children as they sleep, and a woman has gone missing. All of this is a fascinating read.
The second half of the book picks up with Wilder in college, and the third back in Maine 20 years later. By this point there are multiple narrators and things get needlessly confusing. There comes a time when there are simply too many layers to a story, where you have to strip things back instead of adding more wood to the pile. Eliminating just a single element would have made all the difference in making this story more cohesive and entertaining.
Dates Read: November 29 to 30, 2024
Page Count: 345
3 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Bingo - G49 (25/25) * Complete!
141. The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette
Seven strangers awaken to discover that they are alone in their towns, which have mysteriously become overgrown with vegetation and animal life seemingly overnight.
I enjoyed this one. Our heroes are baffled to be alone in an abandoned and decrepit city. They work to come together and decipher what clues they can to discover what has happened to everyone else. I liked the theories that were put forth, though the character development was on the simple side. I did especially enjoy the addition of a blind character and her solution to one of their issues with roving bands of wolves. The ending was a let-down, though.
Dates Read: November 30 to December 01, 2024
Page Count: 363
4 out of 5 stars
142. More Than This by Patrick Ness
After a teen dies, he wakes up in his old hometown, now abandoned and overgrown. The only thing he has in common with the two people he meets are that they also died in the same manner, so the trio put their heads together to figure out what happened while also being stalked by a mysterious man.
Chapters alternate between Seth’s current predicament and memories from his life, and I was instantly captivated by his family hardships and his friendships. I also adored the duo he meets in his hometown, especially Tomasz. Ness had his cadence down perfectly, and I loved his enthusiasm.
My only complaint would be that the reader realllllly doesn’t know what’s going on at the end. The group has a theory they are about to test, but it felt off to me. I wish there’d been a little more clarity, though I appreciate the hopeful ending.
Date Read: December 02, 2024
Page Count: 480
4 out of 5 stars
.