What are you reading at the moment?

[Connie Ciampanelli]

Based on a number of recommendations, I made the mistake of purchasing David Baldacci's Wish You Well. Abysmal writing, stereotypical characters, telegraphed plot. The main character's late father was supposed to be this great writer, but when the book quotes from his writing it makes you scratch your head and wonder who thought this writing was good. Ugh! I spent fifteen bucks so I'm going to finish it, then decide whether to donate it to the library or toss it.

Connie Ciampanelli

[CaribooRose]

HI Guys
Dang but I hate it when my fave authors turn out "rote, routine, rubbish" ... them are Three R's I don't appreciate ... it appears to happen once they've achieved a measure of $ucce$$.

Ergo ... I've returned to reading older novelists ... Harry Kemelman's Rabbi Small, Dorothy Gilman's Mrs Pollifax and Faye Kellerman's Peter/Rina Decker ... and I'm really enjoying this history project LOL Fortunately I have the memory capacity of a 1999 Dell computer, so while the story is foggily familiar, I'm still surprised at whodunnit! Gunna bring me home another bagful of Golden Oldies today!

Regards!!
Rose

[Dakotapix]

Connie -- I read the Baldacci book many years ago and recall liking it very much. I recommended it to my wife and she agreed. Maybe it's one of those stories that requires you to be in the right mood or frame of mind. I may have to give that another read to see if that's the case. That book came out early in this century, I believe.

I noted today that UNBROKEN, by Laura Hillenbrand, is still leading the non-fiction category on the NY Times best seller list. This is An Olympic runner's story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II. I read this earlier this year and was surprised to see it still on top. Quite a story.

I should mention that I've started reading Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series. Currently on The Concrete Blond, third in the series. I want to read them in order.

[mlerc]

Connie, I am definitely one who recommended WISH YOU WELL to you. As I am a library person, I did not spend a dime, but am sorry you did not like it. As the book is from the pov of a 12 year old girl, the fact that she thinks her beloved father is a wonderful writer is not surprising, imo. I loved the feeling of place, which again, in the mountains of western Virginia in the 1940's, having been transferrred there from a city, is still a shock to said girl. How she and her younger brother cope with their great-grandmother, with their mother in a coma from the same accident, and the people they meet, makes WISH YOU WELL one of the few books I will keep (just found it at a book fair for $2 a month ago.) You can trust Rose's recommended authors of the comment above. Or not, as I would recommend them too. chuckle

[Connie Ciampanelli]

Rose, your posts always make me smile. And you are not that old. As they say on the internet, IMO. But I may be biased as I am the same age.

Marilyn, we are usually on the same page, so to speak, but as my sainted grandmother used to say, if two people have any kind of relationship and they always agree, one of them is a fool! I try not to buy too many books these days, unless they are something special, but based on recommendations and the fact that it was the first book chosen for the "Reading Across Rhode Island" project, I thought I'd splurge.

Perhaps, for me, Wish You Well might have worked better if told first person. As long as we agree on JLB, I'm good!

Connie Ciampanelli

[CaribooRose]

HI Guys
My mother was bored being a farmer's wife with a toddler (that'd be me) and two kids in school ... soooo she taught me to print and read long before I started Grade 1 ... I grew up reading Ngaio Marsh and Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner/AA Fair ... need I continue? Yes, Nancy Drew graced my own bookcase, but so did Isaac Asimov (loved the Robot series!). And, what with my parents getting closer and closer to that magical One Century mark, well ... we're all reading the same authors again

Oh hey, I hear a Ross MacDonald calling my name!!

Regards!!
Rose

[Connie Ciampanelli]

Dear Dakotapix,

Because Seabiscuit was so great and the reviews for Unbroken universally good, my husband purchased the latter. It's the next book on his pile to be read; I will read it right after he is done. I look forward to it.

In my opinion, Michael Connelly is second only to JLB. I actually began with Connelly, reading them out of order. The first I picked up randomly from the library was The Last Coyote, which blew me away. It is still my favorite, perhaps an emotional connection as a first love. I believe it is next on your list. Among the stand alones, I particularly love Void Moon, told in the voice of the protagonist, who is a woman. Connelly gets women. There is a scene at the end (no spoilers here; I'll wait for you to read it yourself) that brought this into stark relief. It reduced me to tears.

Bosch is very much like Dave Robicheaux, a good man with many faults who sometimes makes bad choices and suffers great angst over those decisions. (Plus he has the added attraction, for me, of being a jazz lover. As you no doubt have noticed, the books are replete with scenes of Harry soothing himself with jazz...and booze. I had the good fortune of being a contest winner on the MC site and won a CD of jazz selection that Harry loves). Yet Dave and Harry are very different kinds of men. Long ago, I wrote to Jane Davis, manager of the MC site, that Harry in many ways reminded me of Dave, but that of course the books are altogether different. Her response was that MC would be flattered as one of his great influences is JLB; MC was honored that JLB wrote a blurb for one of his books.

As with JLB, Connely's books are virtually the only ones I purchase these days, and in hard cover!

Happy Reading.
Connie Ciampanelli

[mlerc]

Connie, we will always agree on JLB, but the author I consider closer to him in pain and anguish of his character is Ken Bruen. Just started CROSS today. Set in Galway, main character Jack Taylor is a former Garda (like Irish FBI) and dealing with alcohol problems. Crucifixion on the first several pages. Not for someone looking for a sherbet.....

Just finished Baldacci's TRUE BLUE. Standalone as far as I can tell. Main character is a former cop, former as she was framed and spent two years in prison. In looking for ways to redeem herself, she meets (was going to say hooks up) with a lawyer who has found a dead body in a refrigerator in his firm and they go looking for the killer. Takes them into the inner city, millionaire philanthropist's mansion and a thread of federal agencies. OH, and her sister is the police chief of DC. I really liked the complexity, but one poster on the MC board called Mace (main character) a ball buster. Even looking up the definitions in the dictionary, I did not see that, but ....await his response to my recent post....

[Patsy]

I'm just beginning "Forty Grains of Black Powder" by RLB Hartmann, who happens to be a long-time online pal of mine. She has another book that I read titled, "I Rode with Cullen Baker." Quite a storyteller. This one is shaping up to be well worth the cost, as well.

I'm happy to see the interest in Michael Connelly here. I love his books. I just saw the movie based on "The Lincoln Lawyer." Pretty good, actually. I'd like to see it again someday.

[YankeeWoman]

I have read most of Michael Connelly's books and have every intention of reading the others. He has three characters whose lives intersect: Harry Bosch, who was mentioned above; Harry's half-brother, the lawyer, Mickey Haller, who was featured in The Lincoln Lawyer (also mentioned); and a journalist who writes about sensational murders in the Los Angeles area, Jack McEvoy. Writing about these three characters keeps Mr. Connelly very busy and keeps his fans very well entertained!

For people who like good writing, I would also recommend Scott Turow, who writes legal thrillers. If you haven't read anything by him, you could do worse than to start with, Presumed Innocent. I also liked, Personal Injuries a lot, although I was surprised at how many people panned it in reader reviews, finding it boring and fit only for lawyers to read. I found it haunting, something that stayed with me long after I put it down. I also liked his other books as well; I find him a very intelligent writer.

I recommend, The Mourning Sexton by Michael Baron, too. I am afraid that anything I say will give away plot, so I don't want to comment further.

Then there is the Dismas Hardy series of books by John Lescroart. The people in his books grow on you as do the people in James Lee Burke's books because he has the ability to make you care about them. The author has compassion for people and it comes through in his writing, one of the very important facets of Mr. Burke's writing for me.

That's all I have for now. I just discovered this page today. I look forward to reading this page often in the future.

Best regards,

Yankee Woman