Monday, March 01, 2021

February 2021 Additions to My eBook Stockpile

 



I think I'll start this post out with something a little different. You very seldom ever hear me mention a book that I didn't finish reading. There aren't that many of them, and I prefer to spend my time talking about books that I did read from cover to cover, but something compels me to make an exception, and since it was in eBook format, it's not that far off topic.

Erik Larson is one of my favorite authors. He can write history and make it feel like you are immersed in a wonderful tale of fiction. I'd been holding his latest, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, aside as a special treat, and when I felt the time was right, I dove right in expecting magic. For well over two hundred pages, I kept waiting for the magic, but all I felt was utter boredom. I finally gave up and made my peace with the fact that I'm one of the few readers who didn't like the book. It happens. I do feel disappointment, but I don't feel that there's something wrong with me as a reader. I just stopped reading and chose another book. Which begs the question: how do you feel when you don't like a book that (it seems) everyone else in the world loved?

To get back on track, here are the eBooks that tickled my fancy enough to download to my Kindle during the month of February. Yes indeed, I do have a healthy digital security blanket! I've grouped them according to genre/subgenre, and if you click on the book's title, you'll be taken to Amazon where you can get more information about it. 

Let's take a look at what I couldn't resist!


~~~Historical Mystery~~~

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T.E. Kinsey. Set in 1920s London. My review.
Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood. Set in 1940s New York.
The Jazz Files by Fiona Veitch Smith. Set in 1920s England and France.


~~~Short Story~~~

Randomize by Andy Weir. Set in Las Vegas. I rated this three stars on Goodreads.
The Imposter by Paul Doiron. Set in Maine. I rated this four stars on Goodreads.
Vermeer to Eternity by Anthony Horowitz. Set in England.


~~~Dystopian~~~
 
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. Set in California. 


~~~Historical Fiction~~~

News of the World by Paulette Jiles. Set in 1860s Texas.


~~~Amateur Sleuth~~~

Guilt Trip by Judith Cutler. Set in England.


~~~Police Procedural~~~

See Them Run by Marion Todd. Set in Scotland.


~~~Thriller~~~

Past Praying For by Aline Templeton. Set in England.
Black Coral by Andrew Mayne. Set in Florida.


Well, how did I do? Did I choose some good ones? Or... did you add any of these to your own Need to Read lists? Inquiring minds would love to know!





22 comments:

  1. Some of those books do look enticing.
    I have books at the library on hold and have some on Overdrive at the library website.
    I just forced myself to finish a book that could have cured my insomnnia. I did not care about the stories or the characters. (sigh). It was bound to happen as I've read some good books lately, such as The Vanishing Half, And Then She's Gone, The Distant Dead and The Red, Red Snow. Not a dud among them.
    But this other book was so boring. I won't name the author publicly. I have so many books to pick up, including Michael Connelly's latest Haller/Bosch, David Rosenfeld's The K Team and some others.

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    Replies
    1. Why did you force yourself to finish it if you were bored to tears?

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    2. I didn't have another paper book to read, and that was my last library book. What is that pull to finish a book? Anyway, Tuesday I got more real books.

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    3. Good! (But I thought you had stacks of books to choose from?)

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    4. None struck my fancy and a few have small print.

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  2. Sometimes you do just have to accept and make peace with the fact that you're not going to finish a book, Cathy. Life's too short to do otherwise, and there are too many excellent books out there. Your new ones look good. It's nice to see the Templeton, the Cutler (must read more of her work!!) and the Doiron, especially. Hope you'll enjoy them all.

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  3. I regularly abandon between ten and fifteen books during any given year, and the number seems to be slowly climbing. At this stage of my life, I want to read the books that I enjoy, the ones that speak to me and who I am. I don't want to waste time with something that is boring to me or that irritates me in style or content to the point that I have to drag myself back to it.

    I'm a big fan of Erik Larson's books and have read all but the one you just abandoned. For some reason, I've been reluctant to pick that one up...just a feeling I had about it. I'm going to get to it eventually, I suppose.

    Nice e-book haul last month. News of the World is the only one I'm familiar with, but there are some interesting looking ones there I'll look forward to hearing more about. I was good in February, only adding four books to the shelves...and three of those were e-books.

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    1. I remember something you said about News of the World on your blog, Sam.

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  4. I had the same reaction to The Splendid and the Vile (though in fewer pages!) - and so did most of my book club, so you're not alone. At first, I thought it was due more to my usual lack of interest in straightforward biography, but I've revised that opinion as additional negative reviews have come to my attention.

    I think you'll enjoy Fortune Favors the Dead. And I'm going to take a look at See Them Run.

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    1. If it hadn't been for the fact that the author was Erik Larson, I would have abandoned it in many fewer pages, let me tell you!

      And thanks for commenting. It's good to know that I'm not alone!

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  5. Maybe because I love good WWII nonfiction, I loved The Splendid and the Vile. I was engrossed throughout, but we can't all love the same books, and I'm sorry this one didn't work for you. :(

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    1. So am I because normally I enjoy good WWII nonfiction.

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  6. Fortune Favors the Dead looks good. Friends love Octavia Butler's books, but I've never read any science fiction, so to speak.

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    1. I read Butler's Kindred, which I really liked, and that led me to this one. You know... if I liked that one, will I like this one? I used to read a lot more Sci Fi and/or dystopian fiction than I do now.

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  7. A sci-fi loving friend just emailed me that she loved this book by Octavia Butler. So maybe I'll wade into the waters of sci-fi.

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  8. Parable of the Sower is weird to read now. I read it at the beginning of the shut down and it was so strange.

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    Replies
    1. I normally love a good dystopian-type story, so it will be interesting to see how I feel about this having now experienced a pandemic.

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  9. I put Fortune FAvors the Dead on library hold, and will wait a bit on the Butler. Will also wait to see what your reviews say about these books.
    Happiness is four library books and two more on hold. I realize I do not finish Overdrive books in the library website (no Kindle needed) if I don't like them, but seem to feel I have to finish paper books unless they're in a 4-pt. font.

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    1. I haven't felt obliged to finish a book since I was in my early thirties. Fortunately, I don't run across that many books that I can't finish.

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  10. Glad you don't run across many DNF's. I tend to finish, although I have not finished every one I started. In the Overdrive, I start reading, then fast forward and look at text and check them in if i"m not liking it.

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