So
far January's weather has me baffled. Last week we had snow, a
thunderstorm (rain), an ice storm, and a sunny mild(ish) afternoon. What
is with Mother Nature? I can't figure out what to wear from day to day.Except for that one warm day, I've been cooped up inside. Not all bad, of course, because I've listened to a couple of audiobooks and I've been catching up on my cooking and my reading.
I keep vowing to ban the news from this house, but it's kind of like a train wreck, Mr. BFR and I just can't stop watching. ARGH.
What I'm Reading Now
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough (Flatiron Books) is a psychological thriller set in contemporary times in London and elsewhere in the UK. I'm about halfway done, and all I'll say now is that it's hard to put down and I know that some bad, bad things are going to happen one or all of the three main characters. Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan (Orbit Books) is an amazingly terrific story that is part fantasy and part historical fiction set in an imaginary world. Lots of action, terrific characters, good humor, betrayals, and friendships. Recommended audiobook (details in an upcoming review). The One Inside by Same Shepard (A. A. Knopf): I just started this earlier today and can already tell I'm going to love it. A man, his memories, the natural environment, and more.
On My Radar: Thrillers / Mystery
This Is Not Over by Holly Brown (William Morrow) is a psychological thriller with themes of motherhood, marriage, and secrets. The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry (Crown) is a mystery set in Salem, Massachusetts, that revisits some of the characters from the author's very popular The Lace Reader. Little Deaths by Emma Flint (Hachette Books) is a noir thriller set in 1965 Queens that asks, Did a struggling cocktail waitress kill her own children or is someone out to ruin her?
On My Radar: This and That
History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund (Atlanta Monthly) is about a young girl who discovers that adults are often not who they seem to be. She is left to make sense of the world and her place in it. Signals by Tim Gautreaux (A. A. Knopf) is a short story collection that has already garnered much praise. Many of the stories are set in the South and examine contemporary life. Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang (William Morrow) is set in turn-of-the-last-century Shanghai. A Eurasian girl navigates prejudice, politics, and friendship against the background of a disappearance and murder.
We seem to be the same way with the news lately... sigh. Sam Shepard's book look good!
ReplyDeleteSignals sounds interesting even though I generally have a tough time with short stories.
ReplyDeleteI've got BEHIND HER EYES preordered from Audible. It looked way too good to pass up. I also want to read the Holly Brown book - have read another of hers that I liked. I'll also probably try Brunonia Barry's book. I did like THE LACE READER. I have heard some mixed reviews of this new one. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteNews - yuck! I'm trying to just skim the surface. Weather - I agree that it's been odd, but I feel like I say that every year. We've had 16 degrees and over 80 - within the same week. LOL
Our weather has been weird, too. We've been getting a lot of ice this winter, not so much snow. I would much rather have snow than ice.
ReplyDeleteI've got a few of the titles you mentioned on my radar as well. Someone made a comment about the end of the Sarah Pinborough book being totally wrong on Litsy, so now I'm wondering exactly what that means. I'll have to read it for sure.
Our weather has been crazy too - snow one Saturday and mid-70's the next. We're supposed to be in the 60s and 70s all this week. I feel like I need to pull my sandals out!
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing good things about Little Deaths.
I seem to be watching more news these days, too. I don't know why. It's always depressing. I'd like to bury my head in the sand for the next week!
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to hear what you think of Little Deaths. I keep wavering on it. History of Wolves...a very scattered story. Not my favorite.
Hope it warms/dries up!
This Is Not Over + History of Wolves sound like great reads I'll have to look into.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week and happy reading!
I have been keeping the news out of the house pretty well since the November election and it has helped me stay in denial all this time! I have been hearing a lot about the new Sarah Pinborough book, and I'm definitely planning on reading it. I think I have read a Sam Shepherd story collection, if I'm remembering right, but I don't gravitate towards books about the natural world. I've been doing some cooking and hope to get back to taking part in Weekend Cooking this month!
ReplyDeleteBehind Her Eyes is on my list...and now I'm drawn to This Is Not Over.
ReplyDeleteThe Sam Shepard book is one I have now bookmarked on Amazon. I love his acting, and have definitely seen his screenplays brought to life...but I haven't read any of his work.
Enjoy your week, and thanks for visiting my blog.
History of Wolves is on my list too. It looks like the perfect read for winter, so long as it stays winter! I'm not ready for the humidity yet! Happy reading ☺
ReplyDeleteThe volatility of the weather continues to surprise us, even when it shouldn't. Yesterday, for example,I hiked 11+ km in windy, rainy weather, while today it's snowing/hailing and quite cold. Tomorrow, who knows?
ReplyDeleteTheft of Swords sound like something I might enjoy.
Theft of Swords sounds good. I haven't read anything by that author yet. You can see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteSame here w/ the weather, we've had ice and today it rained, it's been variable all week as well. History of Wolves and Dragon Springs Road look interesting to me. History of Wolves I just saw yesterday as I was blog hopping, and I was curious.
ReplyDeleteBehind Her Eyes (I've been enjoying psychological thrillers lately) and Theft of swords both sound good too. I keep seeing good things about Sullivan's books.
Oh, see, you live in Nova Scotia climates now. We honestly have an expression that if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes. lol We also have had all over the place weather, but that is just normal for us. What is abnormal is how we don't really seem to get snow that much anymore. Either we have a pounding ahead or we have a totally new climate because this is two winters in a row with like no snow.
ReplyDeleteoooh .. lots of titles to put on the TBR list .. however several reviews of History of Wolves were not wonderful so i think i will skip that one .. thanks!!!!!
ReplyDeleteReally interested in the mystery novels you mentioned. Those look great. I do have the Brunonia Barry on my list although I've heard it's not living up to some of her other novels. I'm still looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteUgh...I know what you mean about the news! It's just so stressful. I broke my own rule the other day - got so upset over a news item that I posted about it on Facebook - boy, did I regret that! I'm going back to living in my cave and enjoying my books :) Fictional worlds are the way to go!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you've been reading some good books lately - enjoy!
Sue
Book By Book
The weather has just been crazy, you never know what you'll wake up to. Little Deaths looks like a good book, I'm going to keep my eye out for that one.
ReplyDelete