Saturday, February 4, 2017

Books Read - Week in Review - W/E 2/4/2017



January passed in the blink of an eye and I am grateful to have escaped the flu thus far.  January was a month of recovery after the holidays and a slower pace.  The month included a lot of dining out, several fantastic movies on the Big Screen and catching up with friends.  My reading for January was way off from past years but, for the most part, I'm still pleased with the books I chose to read. The biggest change was the fact that I didn't listen to any audio books in January, but have one going for February already.

January Reads

(8) books - (3) from my shelves (4) eGalleys and (1) library book
  1. Chocky; John Wyndham - 4/5 (my shelves) - Jan/2017
  2. The Seventh Day; Yu Hua; 3.5/5 (eGalley) - Jan/2017
  3. On Turpentine Lane; Elinor Lipman - 4.5/5 (eGalley) Jan/2017
  4. The Leisure Seeker; Michael Zadoorian - 5/5 (my shelves) - Jan/2017
  5. The Marriage of Opposites; Alice Hoffman - 4/5 -(eGalley-BookGroup pick) -Jan/2017
  6. Second Hand; Michael Zadoorian - 3.5/5 - (my shelves) Jan/2017
  7. Hospital Hill; Katherine Anderson - 3.5/5 (library) -  Jan/2017
  8. The Beautiful Dead; Belinda Bauer - 3.5/5 - (eGalley) Jan/2017

Books Read Last Week


The Fifth Floor; Julie Oleszek 
Mockingbird Publishing (2015) 

Set in 1970's Chicago, The Fifth Floor was an amazing debut novel. It's a heartbreaking story about a young girl named Anna, who is one of ten children in her family. Anna's sister Liz (who she did everything with) dies unexpectedly. Although Anna is just ten years-old at the time and has nothing to do with the reason Liz died, she feels responsible.

For the next seven years, Anna keeps her guilt and grief internalized, her parents seem preoccupied and do not notice the changes in their daughter until at 17, she stops eating and her weight drops to just 85 pounds.  Hospitalized on The Fifth Floor of a locked psych unit, it is here that after much resistance, she starts to deal with feelings and begins her long journey of healing from the trauma of her sister's death.

Brutally honest, this book felt very realistic and seemed to serve as a wake-up call to parents about paying closer attention to what is going on with their children.  (READ IT - 4.5/5 stars)


The Beautiful Dead; Belinda Bauer 
(Atlantic Monthly Press - 2017)

The Beautiful Dead, is a crime thriller set in London around the Christmas season. The story starts out with a chilling scene of a young secretary running for her life, after hours, from an office complex....She is a serial killers victim # 1 of many as it turns out.

Eve Singer is a television crime reporter whose career track is at a standstill, when the serial-killer contacts her and involves her in a sort of cat and mouse chase before his next victim is killed. Eve can't resist the challenge but, could she be one of his victims? Eve also helps care for her father who suffers from dementia. 

I've read several thrillers by this author and although this one did not disappoint, it wasn't a favorite of mine either.  I found Eve to be one of those characters that I really didn't care about one way or the other. I did like the parts of the story that focused on the serial killer and why he did certain things but, the ending felt a bit less exciting for me. The story progressed at a decent pace but, I do think this is one of those stories that will appeal to some crime fiction lovers much more than others. ( 3.5/5 stars)

Current Read


 New Book Arrivals


I've pretty much stopped requesting physical books from publishers these days in my continuing efforts to declutter (eGalleys and eAudios (no problem though:) But (2) new books arrived by mail this week.





In "The Founder", Michael Keaton was terrific in his role as Ray Kroc,  salesman, who turned two brothers' innovative fast food eatery, McDonald's, into one of the biggest restaurant businesses in the world with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.  We really enjoyed this movie! (SEE IT)


Have a great weekend everyone!

(Our weekend plans include a HUGE milestone birthday party for the hub,  and, of course,  rooting for our Patriots on Sunday)


34 comments:

  1. THE FIFTH FLOOR and THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD both sound like books I should try. I might even have a copy of the second one - have to look and see. So happy to know that you've missed the flu - hope that continues. Seems like it's still spreading in several parts of the country. Happy birthday to your husband! Um...I'm not a big fan of the Patriots. Sorry. ;-)

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    1. The Beautiful Dead is definitely a YOU book Kay.

      Yes, I read 53% of Super Bowl watchers will be rooting against the Pats. I can see some people rooting against, 5 time super bowl champs LOL

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  2. You had a great January! Good to know about The Founder.

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  3. Love that new cover for We Love You, Charlie Freeman!

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  4. It's kind of fun to step back from the books a little bit, isn't it?!

    I've heard Keaton is amazing in The Founder and hope to see it but my friend and I plan to see Hidden Figures next.

    Happy birthday to your husband!

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  5. I'd like to see The Founder! Happy Birthday to your hubby!

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    1. We just loved it; Keaton is amazing. We had a great party for the hub.

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  6. January did fly by! I escaped the month unscathed and flu-free while my students were dropping like flies.

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  7. Diane, I enjoyed your week in review post. You read a lot in January. Happy birthday to your husband!

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  8. Lol, I used to live in ME, where they also worship Pats and any Boston teams. The fandom up there is just awesome, so dedicated you don't want to mess with them, ha.

    I might like to read On Turpentine Lane and The Fifth Floor. I always hesitate to choose Belinda Bauer because her plots sound rather gruesome. Maybe I'm wrong! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  9. I just started We Love You, Charlie Freeman - promises to be a very interesting book. I finally read Excellent Women a year or so ago, and loved it--what an interesting premise and thoughtful look at how society pigeonholes women.

    I can definitely see Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc!

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    1. Glad u liked Excellent Women as well. and, Michael Keaton was terrific as Ray Kroc.

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  10. The Fifth Floor sounds intense, but really good. I'll add it to my TBR list! The only movie I saw this week was Bridget Jones' Baby. Cute, but fluff. :-)

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    1. Fifth Floor was engaging, glad I read it. Hope you are doing well Helen.

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  11. Sounds like some darn good ones, especially The Fifth Floor.

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  12. If I didn't listen to audios, I wouldn't have read anything in January I swear. lol Just one of those months!

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  13. I hope you continue to stay healthy this winter. I had that awful flu and it seemed to hang on far too long. You got a lot of reading in, in spite of not listening to any audios. I only read one and listened to one the entire month! Too many distractions with the news and Twitter...

    Happy Birthday to your hubby! Mine is counting the days until his 65th in May. He will retire the day after his birthday, which is pretty exciting!

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    1. It was a fun day all around. 65 is a big one and, one I'll be looking forward to for insurance purposes this December LOL

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  14. Happy Birthday to your hubby... hope the Pats give him a win for his big day! Today is my oldest daughter's birthday, too :)

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    1. OMG - and I went to bed after the halftime show as I was beat after the afternoon brunch. I couldn't believe I missed all the excitement and the best comeback ever!

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  15. Yay for you! You had a fabulous January. Mine was the exact opposite lol - just one book, but that's okay by me. I probably won't get to read much until April, so this will have to do.

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    1. Thanks Athira, being a mom to a cutie like yours take priority over reading:)

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  16. Hope you guys have a wonderful time celebrating your hubby's birthday and rooting for your team! Looks like January was a good reading month for you.

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  17. The Marriage of Opposites is a book I've been meaning to read. I'm curious about Lie with Me.

    Enjoy your week!

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