What is your current read and what did you just finish reading? - Page 8

Originally posted by: foreverlazy

Yeah, as far as I can tell, People We Meet On Vacation is her least popular book (which is why I've been avoiding it). What other Emily Henry books have you read/tried to read?

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

The only other one I’ve read by her is Book Lovers and it maybe an unpopular opinion but I think I liked this one a little more than that one. I could not warm up to the characters at all in that one. I think it’s her writing style in general. She gets too long-winded and adds attention to detail where it’s not needed.

Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I really liked Book Lovers, but I think I was more interested in Nora as a character and her relationship with her sister than I was in the actual romance. It is absolutely insane that all of her books are being adapted though, I mean, good for her!

Originally posted by: foreverlazy

Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I really liked Book Lovers, but I think I was more interested in Nora as a character and her relationship with her sister than I was in the actual romance. It is absolutely insane that all of her books are being adapted though, I mean, good for her!

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

True that. When I read romance I expect to see Romance yanno? So maybe that’s why I preferred Alex and Poppy to Nora and Charlie. But yeah it’s is insane about the adaptations if they all actually do get made. Maybe if the script and cast is good, they’ll end up being those rare instances where I prefer the movies to the books 😀

I will say though, in my head, Nora and Charlie were just Blair and Dan from Gossip Girl based on vibes alone like forget what they actually look like.

I'm excited for the movies - I read that a popular fancasting for Alex is Calahan Skogman (Mathias in Shadow and Bone!) and I haven't read the book so Idk how accurate that is, but Emily Henry herself is a big fan of that fancast and I personally really like Calahan so fingers crossed there.

Just finished The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren - really surprised me this one. Did not expect to like it as much as I did.

Now onto Dating Dr. Dil

@foreverlazy, I remember you saying this is a breezy read. I'll come back with my thoughts when I finish

Finished reading Cancer Ward

Okay, here is the deal.

I grabbed this book as it piqued my interest about a diverse group of cancer patients in a ward grappling with their own illnesses and facing mortality (I know another cancer-related book, sorry).

Since it's Russian literature, you get more than what you bargain for with the unnecessary 2 to 3 given nicknames for each character, which had me having a hard time remembering all of the characters and the lengthy historical insights and lessons from communism, doctor-patient relationship, conversations about bodily autonomy, and private vs. state healthcare etc etc etc..

My enjoyment level was up and down. I was reading this book with a couple of other books and the other books kept winning out. Like so many of the books I am reading these days, Cancer Ward lost my interest in several places but then picked up again just when I was about to give up.

The book was written for those who are familiar with Russian history around the time of Stalin, of which I have no knowledge whatsoever and I spent skemming through pages just to get to the part I find interesting.

I would have given this book 5/5 for the the amount of wisdom mentioned if it wasn't for the dense history/politics.

Sharing the prologue of the book..?? Is it worth sharing...A book that is 40 years old and penned by an IFS officer .A book that is becoming youthful with each passing year . Requesting readers to guess the name of the novel.. So here is the prologue.. The story is set in an otherwise unremarkable village which is notorious for its infamous Ammankavu (Kali temple ), a place that people avoid even in broad daylight.Naturally ,no one has lit a lamp in the abode of the Goddess.The villagers could sense something eerie in the air surrounding the temple for the past 20 years.A little distance further ,beyond the rice fields looms the second building MANGALAM.Once known for its grandeur and luxury,this residence is now in a dilapidated condition with tiles loosening from the roof.Another place which gives creeps to the people The scene opens with 3 men drinking themselves into a stupor in the local toddy shop of the village.A heated argument between Toma and the ugly handicapped Velappan causes the former to accept the bet of taking the shortest route to his house via the temple road.The 3rd observer Vasu who is also the caretaker of Mangalam tries to dissuade Toma from accepting the bet. But Thoma in his inebriated state boasts about his bravery only to be challenged again by Velappan ( Velu). Though Vasu insists Thoma to wait until he shuts down his grocery shop, Thoma is reluctant and leaves alone. Despite having an alternate path to reach home, Thoma goes via Ammankavu. The night seemed darker and chillier as he walks along the desolate path and then remembers that today it was Amavasya ( no moonday).He unconsciously tries to recall the rumours surrounding the inhabitants of Mangalam as they also own the land surrounding the Kali temple.The deaths surrounding the master and mistress of the house still remained a mystery despite police investigation.All he knew that the young heir of the couple Sadan has been whisked away by his Uncle ( Sadan's mother elder brother)after the deaths.The boy must have grown into a young lad who hasn't visited in the past 20 years. People say he is working somewhere abroad. Too many questions haunted him ?? How Vasu got this much money to maintain the grocery shop ?? Why had Sadan's uncle abandoned the property worth crores ?? Thinking about the deaths caused Thoma to become a little bit more conscious and then suddenly he sees something unusual in the Kali temple - a sight never seen before- a sliver of light looming in the background as if someone has lit a lamp.How is this possible?? Following the light ,he hears buzzing of bees around him.Unable to stop himself ,he reaches the inner Sanctorum.Yes, a light was burning brightly in front of the idol and a sacrificial stone of black granite was placed a little away from the idol.This must have been the place where people were beheaded in early times for sacrifice..but he was not alone

The humming grows louder ..!! A small scraggy girl of about 5 was sitting on the stone already She was stark naked and sobbing profusely as if in great pain.Thoma'seyes widens.... The next day,few women who collects sticks from the rice field ,get the shock of their lives,when they see the dead body of Toma lying there half eaten by foxes. The body couldn't be identified as it looked as if someone has twisted it off the neck.The hands has been nearly snapped off in the elbows and blood has clotted there . Vasu got the news and runs towards the field.He and Velu keep on crying cursing themselves..Perhaps he had been alive had he not taken the shortest route.

Vasu now thinks of informing Sadan..A letter is posted to him...

What happens next...??

Originally posted by: foreverlazy

UPDATE: Just finished The Hawthorne Legacy! I'm still shocked that I enjoyed this book because the first one was such a letdown. We saw more of the secondary characters (which is something that I said was actually a positive about the book) and I actually liked the romance this time around just because there was more depth added to it.

I also read more BSC books - 'The Truth About Stacey' and 'Mallory On Strike'. I loved both books, although Stacey's book was technically a re-read just because I read the graphic novel as a kid. I'm also still working through Snowbound - special editions are harder to get into just because you get everyone's POV in it. I'm also reading 'Kristy in Charge' because it's honestly been a while since I've read one of her books.

Currently Reading: My hold for the 'The Final Gambit' audiobook arrived just as I finished The Hawthorne Legacy, so I'm pretty excited to start listening to it.

I've also begun to re-read one of my favourite manga series - Library Wars (currently reading Vol. 8).

UPDATE: I took a break from my TBR to read something a little bit out of my comfort zone for my book club - Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes. I gave it one star and that one star was for me... because I finished the book when I should've DNF'd it.

I also read Sailor Moon for the first time! I'd watched a little bit of the anime as a kid, but I was honestly more of Tokyo Mew Mew girl. It's always fun to go read older manga because the art style feels so unhinged compared to a lot of the newer manga. For Sailor Moon specifically, the juxtaposition of how cutesy the girls are drawn versus how weird and terrifying the villains and their victims are drawn really took me by surprise! (I would also like to add that I don't know a lot about art, nor am I any good at it, I just know what I like.)

I wanted to read Wolverine vs Deadpool before watching the movie and there's a reason I actively avoid reading comic books about men. (The two are very different!)

Currently Reading: Still making my way through The Final Gambit, but I did get my hands on Good Girl, Bad Blood recently, so that's my current obsession. I also needed something a little more calming to listen to while working so I decided to finally give The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi a try - so far so good!

I also briefly started listening to Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco on Spotify but after the first maybe two chapters I felt like I needed to switch to my library app because that app actually lets you bookmark parts and control the speed (Spotify does not!). While the narrator is good, she speaks just a little too fast for my liking, which is shocking because I usually have to change my audiobook speed because I find the narrators to be too slow.

I guess I'm just in a thriller/mystery/horror headspace, I don't know what that says about me.

Finished Liz Tomforde’s Play Along. 4 stars from me. Liz really knows how to write her MMCs. I wasn’t very invested in Isiaih’s story from what I knew of him from his previous book appearances but I loved him in the book. Kennedy was another matter but she did redeem herself in the end.

Now reading: The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz and gosh, it’s really good. So reminiscent of Agatha Christie who’s my favorite mystery author ever. That’s a deliberate choice by the author and it reads like a homage to her work. And the format of the book is such a surprise, did not expect it.

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Finished Liz Tomforde’s Play Along. 4 stars from me. Liz really knows how to write her MMCs. I wasn’t very invested in Isiaih’s story from what I knew of him from his previous book appearances but I loved him in the book. Kennedy was another matter but she did redeem herself in the end.

Now reading: The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz and gosh, it’s really good. So reminiscent of Agatha Christie who’s my favorite mystery author ever. That’s a deliberate choice by the author and it reads like a homage to her work. And the format of the book is such a surprise, did not expect it.

Glad to hear good things about Liz Tomforde! I've been meaning to get into her books since I saw her blowing up on tiktok last year, but I'm always a little wary of booktok recs since I haven't had the best luck with them in the past.