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

•  Excellent Women; Barbara Pym (such a good story)

 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.

• Lie With Me; Sabine Durant (to available in US, purchased from a UK vendor)
• We Love You Charlie Freeman; Kaitlyn Greenidge (sent by Algonquin)

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)

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro - The Fifth Floor; Julie Oleszek

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph, maybe two, of a book that I'm reading or plan to read soon.

The Fifth Floor; Julie Oleszek

Mockingbird Publishing - 2015

One

"The first doctor my mother drags me to is a tall, thin man. He seems to think his direct approach will intimidate me, and maybe it would if I cared, but I don't.  I follow him into his office, leaving my mother staring at my back from the waiting room.  He climbs behind his enormous desk piled with papers and files of patients and motions me to sit in one of the winged-back chairs opposite him in front of his desk.  I sit and he stares.

'Stand up and turn around,' he says with as little compassion as he can gather."

Based on this intro, would you read more or pass on this book?

Feel free to join in by posting your own First Chapter First Paragraph Intro and linking below.