what are you reading?

Oh God, I hate this modern genre of submission-lit for women. Where's the novels about dominant women? I would kill for a series about a Christine Grey, but I think I'm probably going to have to write one myself.
While not nearly as spicy or potentially controversial, I’m really digging Alyssa Kay Adams’ Bromance series. I’m still feeling out the genre but I like romances with older adults who have been around the block rather than sheltered 20-year-olds or something.

It’s a fun trip, though.
 
Just downloaded the audio version (in Libby) from our local lending library. Looking forward to it. Thanks for the recommendation, kkimura!
Update - Water For Elephants is an excellent, captivating, well written tale. I love the chronological perspective / contrast. BUT, on the basis of two excessively salty passages I've read thus far, I wouldn't recommend this to high school seniors (nor to members of my family including my adult children, for that matter) and I'm only in Chapter 6. I'm certainly no prude but IMHO, the author lingered far too long on a certain scene and could/ should have left a chunk of the narrative to the reader's imagination. Readers should also have been spared the grainy details of one of the protagonist's colleague's personal habits. Hemingway wrote about visits to the cathouse but was prudent enough (or at least his publisher was) to leave details to the reader's imagination.
 
While not nearly as spicy or potentially controversial, I’m really digging Alyssa Kay Adams’ Bromance series. I’m still feeling out the genre but I like romances with older adults who have been around the block rather than sheltered 20-year-olds or something.

It’s a fun trip, though.
I just want some smut that isn't all about submission, myself.
 
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane. Half way through and I'm still not sure where he's heading but that's a good thing I guess.
 
I just want some smut that isn't all about submission, myself.
Yeah, I’m not keen on the submission trope. I tried reading an old Tessa Bailey book called His To Protect and I found I’m also SUPER not into the alpha male, “I’m glad nobody else was here to see her because I’d have to throw them off this roof. Nobody’s allowed to see her looking this hot but me,” stuff.
 
Yeah, I’m not keen on the submission trope. I tried reading an old Tessa Bailey book called His To Protect and I found I’m also SUPER not into the alpha male, “I’m glad nobody else was here to see her because I’d have to throw them off this roof. Nobody’s allowed to see her looking this hot but me,” stuff.
Hate that. Found a collection of erotic vampire stories and was disappointed because there was this constant theme that women can't truly be capable, only vulnerable, and need men to lead and protect them. Blergh. Vomit. Nope.
 
I finished Gwendy’s Final Task yesterday. It’s a co-authored book between Richard Chizmar and Stephen King and wrapped up the Gwendy trilogy decently. None of the three are long and all take place over a woman’s life so quite a bit of ground is covered and, as a result, it feels a LITTLE shallow, but I liked it all enough to hunt down a Chizmar-original.

Now I’m onto an Emily Henry romance called People We Meet on Vacation. I really liked Book Lovers so we’ll see how this one shakes out.
 
I just finished In The Garden Of Beasts by Erik Larson. I thought it was OK. I think I might have enjoyed it more had I read it at a different time because I have lighter fare I'd rather be reading right now. I did want to finish it but I kind of had to push my way through it. It was the story of an American family, U.S. ambassador William Dodd's, living in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power. They say that history tends to repeat itself and it's absolutely horrifying and of great concern to see the parallels between what's happening in today's political world and that of pre-war Nazi Germany.
 
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I just finished Bookshop by the Sea which felt like a huge rip-off. All the books about bookshops I’ve read so far have had a sharp self-awareness about books for an audience who like all sorts of books. But this one? The protagonist mentions maybe three books, never references their actual stories, and spends all their time when they talk about books about how they smell, look on shelves, and the author backs this up with weak justifications from other characters (“you always did have your nose in a book!”).

It wasn’t just the books (I did pick it up for the books, though), because she stayed very shallow with absolutely everything else in the books. Occupations characters had weren’t fleshed out, the CHARACTERS weren’t fleshed out, the drama was one-dimensional and easily solved, and even the predictable action was boring.

I absolutely hated it. I would pick it up, excited to read it only because with every page I turned I was closer to a book that would more than likely be better.

Then I read Laziness Does Not Exist which is a psychology book. Lots of studies about how our culture’s view on laziness as an action is wrong since laziness is almost always a symptom of a greater underlying problem (and not an underlying problem that’s easy to identify or make blanket statements about). It was a very interesting book that made me re-think some stuff and that’s why I like books. ;-)
 
I just finished Bookshop by the Sea which felt like a huge rip-off. All the books about bookshops I’ve read so far have had a sharp self-awareness about books for an audience who like all sorts of books. But this one? The protagonist mentions maybe three books, never references their actual stories, and spends all their time when they talk about books about how they smell, look on shelves, and the author backs this up with weak justifications from other characters (“you always did have your nose in a book!”).

It wasn’t just the books (I did pick it up for the books, though), because she stayed very shallow with absolutely everything else in the books. Occupations characters had weren’t fleshed out, the CHARACTERS weren’t fleshed out, the drama was one-dimensional and easily solved, and even the predictable action was boring.

I absolutely hated it. I would pick it up, excited to read it only because with every page I turned I was closer to a book that would more than likely be better.

Then I read Laziness Does Not Exist which is a psychology book. Lots of studies about how our culture’s view on laziness as an action is wrong since laziness is almost always a symptom of a greater underlying problem (and not an underlying problem that’s easy to identify or make blanket statements about). It was a very interesting book that made me re-think some stuff and that’s why I like books. ;-)
Have you ever read any Carlos Ruiz Zafon? Your post reminded me of his book The Shadow Of The Wind. From the back cover:
"Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author's other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax's books in existence. Soon Daniel's seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love."
I really enjoyed the story itself but I thought the author really conveyed an understanding of and a sense of a love for books. That the books written of are fictional in the story doesn't detract from that.
 
Have you ever read any Carlos Ruiz Zafon? Your post reminded me of his book The Shadow Of The Wind. From the back cover:
"Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author's other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax's books in existence. Soon Daniel's seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love."
I really enjoyed the story itself but I thought the author really conveyed an understanding of and a sense of a love for books. That the books written of are fictional in the story doesn't detract from that.
I’ll put it on my TBR!
 
The Anarchist's Workbench. Not a political doctrine. but a must-read for all hand powered woodworkers. Click on link and scroll down for a free download of the entire book by Christopher Schwarz, Anarchist woodworker.
I’ve been eyeing the Anarchist series for *checks notes* forever. I love the look of the books’ construction, the idea that the aim for the books is longevity and the aim for the material inside it leans toward self-sufficiency with less reliance on power tools or buying stuff. It really makes me want to get into woodworking.
 
Climate Justice, Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future. By Mary Robinson.
A must read for everyone living in a "developed" 1st world country.
Bill Gates wrote a book about that as well that I recently read and it was pretty great. It had lots of things in it that I had never thought about (let alone knew the details of) and I’ve been one of those increasingly environmentalist guys since I saw An Inconvenient Truth when it came out.

Really enlightening book.
 
I just finished Bookshop of Second Chances - a story of a mid-forties woman starting over after she discovered her husband cheating on her with her friend.

It was okay. I like stories of middle age folks finding new friends and communities. It’s probably because I’m almost forty and on the verge of having to find new friends and community myself and it seems far more daunting than in, say, high school.
 
Sapiens
A Brief History of Humankind
by Yuval Noah Harari
 
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