Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Status 21 /21
Updated December 18, 2021

Books 1-10.
1. Read 3/16/2021 Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
I started reading Caste last year and lost my digital library loan before finishing, 81% in. I requested it again and finished it just hours after my turn came back up. A powerful book.

2. Read 4/17/2021 The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 2: New Books to Make Your Heart Race by five authors ok, not a full book, but 150 pages with the first few sample chapters. I got it from NetGalley

3. READ 7/3/2021 Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis
A book with some hype and a wide variety of reviews, from one star to five. It is determination eligible because twice midway through, I almost abandoned it. Curiosity kept me going and I eventually rounded it up from 3.5 stars based on that curiosity and decent narration.

4. READ 9/6/2021 Dead by Dawn by Paul Doiron listened to the audio after release, NetGalley review book. Book 20 in the Mike Bowditch game warden series. It is either my first or second book in the series.

5. READ 10/5/2021 Still Midnight by Denise Mina this one qualifies as a determination list entry because I was tempted several times to drop it. I was annoyed by the blatant misogyny towards the lone female police officer. Realistic, I suppose, but I don't just let it blow by me anymore.

6. READ 9/18/2021 They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall I heard good things about the author. I probably wasn't in the mood for this type of book so had to push myself to finish it. It turned out that I was hooked into finding out how the train wreck of a situation played out.

7. READ 10/8/2021 The City Where We Once Lived by Eric Barnes this was a slow burn, a stunner in the end, and quite thought provoking. The perspective took a bit to get used to, and the message was not always subtle; but what about climate change is subtle these days with floods and fires and sea level rise?

8. READ 10/31/2021 Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh another slower start, the promised crime happens in the last third of the book. I never quite connected with this one.

9. READ 12/9/2021 Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood by Dawn Turner
I seem like a broken record if I say another slow start to this book selection, but I found the childhood portion of the book overlong. This is usual for me, so others might feel differently. For memoir, I am usually drawn to the later parts of the subject's life.

10. READ 12/18/2021 The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees by Douglas W. Tallamy Curious to learn more about these majestic trees, they are so important.

The next 11 books is the "Plus" part of the challenge. Hope you enjoy and are able to find some great book that will fit in.

11. A book set in a different country than you live in.
READ Flowers Over the Inferno by Ilaria Tuti Italy, and a remote mountain setting.

12. Read a book by an author that you never read before or one by a new debut author.
READ 4/24/2021 A Season with Mom: Love, Loss, and the Ultimate Baseball Adventure by Katie Russell Newland This was a touching memoir and journey taken after the death of the author's Mother. I found it very moving so designate it as my debut author book.

13. A book that someone recommended to you. READ 01/23/2021 A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker. Recommended by Shomeret, and I loved it even though there is a pandemic (in the not too distant past).

14. A book that is a different genre than your normal type of read (could be out of your comfort zone).
READ 01/31/2021 The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher. I thought it was sci-fi. It turned out to be horror. Lucky for me the banter between characters lightened the tension enough for me to read it. I love Stephen King type horror, but generally don't seek out the genre.


15 & 16. Two books from a series you haven't completed yet (Everyone has that one or two books to still read to catch up in a series).
Book 15. READ 1/30/2021 Thin Ice by Paige Shelton a new to me author, new series, and interesting setting in Alaska. I will read more.

Book 16. READ 02/27/2021 A Private Cathedral by James Lee Burke #23 I am working on catching up.

17. A book that comes out in 2021.
READ 02/15/2021 The Survivors by Jane Harper. Set in Tasmania so could have been my "other country" book. Atmospheric and haunting with wonderful narration of the accents

18. A book you meant to read in 2020 but never got around to it.
READ 01/05/2021 The House on First Street: My New Orleans Story by Julia Reed. Part historical restoration, part culinary guidebook, part Katrina story and overall city love story. I lost my library loan in 2020 and got it again to finish inJanuary.


19. A book that came out before you were born. (this one might be harder to do but we know you can handle it)
READ 6/8/2021 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 1953 audio narrated by Tim Robbins. It was enhanced by the buddy read with DonnaJo.

20. A book that is done by more than one author (it can be a book of short stories by different authors, or one book that is one story with more than 1 author like Patterson, or Evanovich and I'm sure there are others.
READ 3/26/2021 The Black Book by both James Patterson and David Ellis I read also a short of this series The Coldest Case by Patterson and Ryan Silbert which I read first and liked better but probably because of the narration which was a dramatization with multiple actors

21. A book that won an award.
READ The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline won the Governor General's Award in 2017.

One down, I added my "Recommended to you" book that had been recommended by Shomeret. wow. A Song for a New Day was very good. I was so immersed in the audio I didn't want it to end. I will definitely seek out more by this author. (Sarah Pinsker )
It would have worked for an "Award winning novel" too, but I imagine I will find something else for that entry later. It won three awards in 2019-2020.

Ann wrote: "One down, I added my "Recommended to you" book that had been recommended by Shomeret. wow. A Song for a New Day was very good. I was so immersed in the audio I didn't want it to end..."

One down, 19 to go! Glad this was a good one.

Carol: It was an added treat that A Song for a New Day was so good. It set a high bar!

Two down. I had an option with last night's book: a new to me author, or a series book I have not finished. I decided to go with an unfinished series book, hoping for another debut / new to me author listing later. Paige Shelton's Thin Ice.

We're making our way slowly, Ann! I'm reading more these days but it feels like it's a cheat to list them unless they either meet the specific categories or, for me, are a book on my owned TBR pile that I want to get to! Which it's hard to do with so many good new books coming out. Maybe I should *determine* that every other book will be from my stack.

Carol: Slowly for me for sure. Good luck with your "every other " strategy. Due dates wreak havoc with that for me.
I think I will have a couple more of the categories lined up. The new books coming out do certainly push other books aside. I have two potentially for the different country category; I'm deciding which to use when I finish The Survivors.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "We're making our way slowly, Ann! I'm reading more these days but it feels like it's a cheat to list them unless they either meet the specific categories or, for me, are a book on my owned TBR pile..."

Added a few more: another unfinished series book with James Lee Burke's A Private Cathedral, and my "other country" book with the atmospheric Flowers Over the Inferno by Ilaria Tuti set in Italy.
My meant to read in 2020 book is one I started in 2020 and didn't finish before the library due date. The House on First Street: My New Orleans Story.
My book that came out in 2021 is The Survivors.
Added my not your usual genre with a horror book I thought was sci-fi when I got it, The Hollow Places. I listened to it and managed. ;)

One more, number 8 of the 21. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline which won the Governor General's Award in 2017 I could have listed this as a book set in a different country ( Canada)
Cherie Dimaline caught my interest with Empire of Wild last year. I was excited to see a follow-up to The Marrow Thieves comes out in October 2021.

I'm actually tackling the top ten books. I often struggle with those, not for a lack of books, but for the definition of determination. I feel like listing some books, those that are easy to read, those by beloved authors, are a bit like cheating.
Isabel Wilkerson's Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents seemed a good choice. A powerful book, and one I had to wait weeks for a library turn, twice. Wilkerson's extensive details regarding the subject were illuminating and horrifying. On occasion I had to stop listening to step away from the cruelty, but it is something that needs to be told to prevent us from ignoring it happening again.
Her mention to practice radical empathy will stick with me.

Good for you. I was just looking at the vast wasteland that is my top ten list. I am *determined* to use these for my backlog, ideally ones I own. But it's hard with all the group reads and the new releases by favorite authors! Nevertheless....

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is on my list as well, and it could very well make it to the DL. I've heard it is a hard read, but her books are so well researched. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration was unputdownable.

Carol, exactly... those books clamoring, "me, me, me, read me now" sure get in the way of the backlog. Thanks for mentioning Isabel Wilkerson's other book.
Lol, another book added to the clamour.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Good for you. I was just looking at the vast wasteland that is my top ten list. I am *determined* to use these for my backlog, ideally ones I own. But it's hard with all the group reads and the new..."

Two more, I listed my "more than one author" entry with a James Patterson co-authored book. I actually read two in the series including a short audio by a different co-author. I couldn't tell the difference but with different narration styles it would have been hard I suppose.
I decided to try for more NetGalley arc's, inspired by Carol's interest and realized I better get the 150 page sampler read and give feedback. I am glad I did as two of the sampled books look to be good ones. A Peculiar Combination and Gone for Good i needed more books to read! Lol

Yeah, right!! LOL

I've listed two more, finishing the bottom 'bonus' books with my "book before you were born", and debut author book which was
A Season with Mom: Love, Loss, and the Ultimate Baseball Adventure by Katie Russell Newland This was a touching memoir and journey taken after the death of the author's Mother. I found it very moving so designate it as my debut author book.
Reading the 1953 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury was enhanced by buddy reading it with DonnaJo. There are interestingly prescient technologies, and disturbing portents of some human traits I recognize today in this classic science fiction novel.

Updated #14 of 21, not bad for July 3rd I guess. Lindsay Ellis's Axiom's End was an alien story set in 2007. Conspiracies and government agents and paranoia. It was described by some reviewers as Twilight and Transformers. I can't argue that. Lol. I almost dropped it midway, but stuck with it and rounded up from 3.5 stars. If it is eventually a series, not sure I would read another one.

Chipping away at your DL goals! Fahrenheit 451 is on my "should read" book but don't think I'll get to it except by accident.

Three more listed, three more to go, and it turns out that all determination books don't have to be ones I disliked.
Eric Barnes's The City Where We Once Lived will be one of the more thought provoking books I have read, introspective and subtle and one to read slowly.
The other two new entries were not so highly ranked. I felt like I needed to try Denise Mina Alex Morrow series. Book one didn't exactly endear me to the characters but the narration and setting held me in place along with respect for other standalone books by the author.
As for They All Fall Down, not being in the mood for the type of book probably shouldn't automatically put a book on the list; but in reality, without the list I probably would have set it aside for "later", someday. :)

good for you. not more to go.

I finished Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen, the lure of listing it as a determination book kept me listening. I never felt there was a compelling reason other than the investment of time, though after finally getting a glimpse of the promised criminal act I was moderately satisfied. It turns out this is the second book I started to read by this author, the previous one is still in a dropped state: Death in Her Hands

Catching up with your reads, Ann, and I have to hand it to you on the determination front. I read a few books this year that I plowed my way through because of a different challenge, but most of the ones on this determination list are there because I finally made time for them, and when I did, I enjoyed them.

I've always loved Fahrenheit 451 and listened to it again recently. It never seems to lose its relevance, sadly.

I read the first in the Mike Bowditch series and enjoyed it enough to return for the one you read.

Denise Mina is an author I've only read once. I enjoyed Conviction, but it's a stand-alone. Based on your comments above I will tread cautiously when considering any of her series.

Your comments on sticking it through Eileen reminded me of my reaction to Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation. I stuck with it hoping that at some point I would understand what all the fuss was about, but that never happened.

And I also got behind on James Lee Burke. As much as I enjoyed the series at first, it seemed to become a bit formulaic (though always well written) after time. Then last year I picked up Robicheaux and loved the whole pseudo-Huey Long elements. Burke really does write well.

I'm sure you will finish up with no problems. Props to you for some excellent choices!

As I've been reviewing everyone's determination comments I realized that the older I get, the less likely I am to stick with a book I'm not enjoying unless it's part of a buddy read or a challenge. There really is something to that "too many books, too little time" business!

But I still applaud people who stay the course, since sometimes the end really does make it all worthwhile!

Barbara: thanks for the encouragement, the "too many books, too little time" argument keeps me from sticking with books that don't grab me too. Re the Denise Mina series, I think some older books just feel dated, though not always. A good reason to start with later books in a series I think and read out of order. LOL. I am over attempting Ottessa Moshfegh's books after the two attempts but I do look forward to catching up with James Lee Burke; though my goal to do it in 2021 is likely to go unfulfilled.

Barbara K wrote: "Denise Mina is an author I've only read once. I enjoyed Conviction, but it's a stand-alone. Based on your comments above I will tread cautiously when considering any of her series.

Your comments on sticking it through Eileen reminded me of my reaction to Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation. I stuck with it hoping that at some point I would understand what all the fuss was about, but that never happened.

And I also got behind on James Lee Burke. As much as I enjoyed the series at first, it seemed to become a bit formulaic (though always well written) after time. Then last year I picked up Robicheaux and loved the whole pseudo-Huey Long elements. Burke really does write well."

One more to go. I should look at my tbr and designate it, but why start that now. I will figure out one to wind down the year probably at the last minute.
For number 20 I pushed to finish Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood even when my mood didn't match the tone of the book or the length of time to commit to it, so it is a worthy entry. I found myself drawn more towards the adult mature perspective segments of the book where the author's reflections and regrets as well as her decisions to grow and support were very enlightening.

Good job, Ann! I'm impressed that you will finish your DL this year.

Carol, it will be the first time I think.. in recent memory anyway. ;)
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Good job, Ann! I'm impressed that you will finish your DL this year."

I added my last entry, The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees. I tend to forget my Hoopla library loans and realize only when they are about to expire - so this morning when I remembered and started listening, it loosely qualified as a determination book, I really wanted to finish it. I loved the tree information, and found the insect portion of the end of the book fully qualified it as a determination book too. Lol

WTG on finishing the challenge this year.