|| IF Book Club : The Next Chapter || - Page 35

Originally posted by: Anam...

The books that I ended by liking a lot more than I expected to.

Just listing them randomly, it’s not in order of preference.

1. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

2. You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

3. This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

This was great and especially in the audiobook format as it is narrated by the author himself.

4. The Taking of Annie Thorne by C.J. Tudor

5. Verity by Colleen Hoover

P.S. In my list of favourite books I forgot to add The Guest List by Lucy Foley. This was a fact paced thriller that I really enjoyed reading.

I haven't heard about the first four books, but I've heard a lot of praise about Verity. I think I will read it one day. Soon, hopefully.

@Diya:

Seeing Fredrick Backman in your Top 4 makes me even more excited to read his works. I only own his latest, Anxious People but I am most interested in Bear Town. Have you read that?

I read The Fault in our Stars so long ago I don't even remember half of the things that happens in it. I wasn't really obsessed with it like others were but I remember liking it. I read Turtles All The Way Down last year, I think and was left disappointed. He is a good writer (and I admire him a lot) but rarely connect with his characters. They are just too pretentious for my taste. 😳

Oh no, you didn't like Mockingjay? I belong to the minority of people who actually enjoyed the conclusion. 😆 But can't say the same about the prequel book. Was it a bad book? I wouldn't say Yes necessarily. So, the main problem was there was a MAJOR pacing issue. It was so painfully boring and slow which you do not really expect from a villain origin type story. And, it's so looooong. If under 350 pages could have dealt with the pacing well. There was also another thing which ties into the OG series which I found so pointless (it's spoiler).

Oh no, did someone spoil you or you did it yourself?

I do think ASOIAF is worth the hype. Many people do not like his writing style but I really do so it was not really a problem. Don't be intimidated at all. If you click with his writing style, it will be a breeze. 😃 And, do pick up A Monster Calls, it's very short. If you have a few free hours, you will be able to finish it!

@Shanam:

Glad you loved You Deserve Each Other.

I am not a big fan of The Alchemist and I dnf'ed The Wives very recently. I didn't even regret it after I found out what happened at the end. 😆 But, her Bad Mommy is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read. Have you read that?

@Anam:

I am happy you are enjoying The Shining! 😃 I think I might read Carrie soon.

I was so satisfied with how My Dark Vanessa was written. The author doesn't spoon-feed at all. There are certain scenes where you don't know how or what to feel and those moments of uncertainty really enhanced the quality of the story, imo.

I am very interested in knowing your opinion on You Deserve Each Other. I have reached a point where I think of the main two characters daily. It doesn't read like a debut at all. I think Sarah Hogle's next book is coming out on April 2021 and it sounds amazing! I can't wait!

I am the type of person of who gets excited for required reading 😆

I really enjoyed Truly Devious too. My favourite book is The Vanishing Stair; it literally made me gasp aloud! The series especially the first book is so atmospheric. School settings in books are a weakness of mine and if it's in a isolated place with lots of intrigue due to an unsolved tragic case? Sign me up! I think Maureen Johnson is coming out with a new book in the series which I am really excited about. Who's you favourite character in it? Nate is literally my soulmate and I love him. 😆

I have only read Gone Girl (and I loved it) but other works of Gillian Flynn are definitely on my tbr along with Roxane Gay, Ruta Sepetys and Celeste Ng. Little Fires Everywhere is in many people's recommendations. I am curious as to why you didn't like it? Is there any particular reason? Those books are way out of my comfort zone so I want to make sure if I am picking it up, it's actually worth it!

Oh no, A Study in Charlotte was on my tbr because it sounded like Truly Devious and I am into YA mysteries nowadays. Sad it turned out to be a disappointment for you.

I LOVED Verity! It was such a fast paced ride and exactly what I want from my thrillers. I also read The Other People by C.J Tudor (it was average) but I am interested in TTOAT. When You Are Not Alone came out, I heard a lot of hype around it but didn't really hear anything after that. Glad you enjoyed it, my interest is piqued.

The Guest List has on my tbr since I heard about it. Ruth Ware's One by One too. Both sound similar to And Then There Were One by Agatha Christie. Hopefully I get to both of them soon!

Originally posted by: Mayashika

@Diya:

Seeing Fredrick Backman in your Top 4 makes me even more excited to read his works. I only own his latest, Anxious People but I am most interested in Bear Town. Have you read that?

I read The Fault in our Stars so long ago I don't even remember half of the things that happens in it. I wasn't really obsessed with it like others were but I remember liking it. I read Turtles All The Way Down last year, I think and was left disappointed. He is a good writer (and I admire him a lot) but rarely connect with his characters. They are just too pretentious for my taste. 😳

Oh no, you didn't like Mockingjay? I belong to the minority of people who actually enjoyed the conclusion. 😆 But can't say the same about the prequel book. Was it a bad book? I wouldn't say Yes necessarily. So, the main problem was there was a MAJOR pacing issue. It was so painfully boring and slow which you do not really expect from a villain origin type story. And, it's so looooong. If under 350 pages could have dealt with the pacing well. There was also another thing which ties into the OG series which I found so pointless (it's spoiler).

Oh no, did someone spoil you or you did it yourself?

I do think ASOIAF is worth the hype. Many people do not like his writing style but I really do so it was not really a problem. Don't be intimidated at all. If you click with his writing style, it will be a breeze. 😃 And, do pick up A Monster Calls, it's very short. If you have a few free hours, you will be able to finish it!

@Shanam:

Glad you loved You Deserve Each Other.

I am not a big fan of The Alchemist and I dnf'ed The Wives very recently. I didn't even regret it after I found out what happened at the end. 😆 But, her Bad Mommy is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read. Have you read that?

I've only read one work of Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove. The book is a bit slow but I liked the story. It was a little different than the usual stuff I read. I've heard his other works are good as well, but I'm yet to read any of them. Have you read Anxious People?

I can totally understand. I was so unmoved by the book not because his writing was poor, or hard to understand...they weren't. But I didn't connect to the characters at all. Now that I didn't like his first book, I don't feel inspired to read his other works either.

I actually liked the conclusion, no matter how terribly predictable it was. But the books lost the thrill and suspense with every sequel. I actually liked the first group the most, the second was second-best, and I liked the last one the least. By the end of Mockingjay, I just wanted to get it over with. Now I remember the trilogy as a single story and not three books with three different stories.

Okay, so you've reinforced my thought of not reading the prequel. Thanks a ton, because I was still giving it a thought, now I know I'll not read it. 😆

I have a bad habit of giving myself spoilers. I can never help it. 😆

I'll probably read ASOIAF next year. It's one of the top books on my tbr. It's a long book, and I've read so little this year, many of them not so good reads, that I feel like I've read nothing at all.

Yeah, I'll find The Monster Calls. The title alone is getting me interested.

@Diya:

I planned on reading Anxious People first but then I went ahead and read through most of his books' synopsis. Now, I want to read Bear Town; sounds like a tearjerker to me! I want to read at least one of his books before this year ends.

I can totally see why you would have enjoyed the rest of the trilogy less. I agree with you on how the first book is the best. I read it within a day, the arena setting just increases so much excitement! But, I really enjoyed how political it got by the end (again trying to be non-spoiler-y). Katniss's transformation has got to be my one of my favourite things from the trilogy. Her cold and calculative nature remained but there was so much more beyond that in her character which in my opinion Suzanne Collins did best at putting forward in the epilogue. These books hold a special place in my heart so you can call me a bit biased. 😆 By the way, are you Team Peeta or Team Gale? I am Team Peeta for life.

Well, alright. I don't think you will be missing out that much by not reading the prequel. It would have been better if she released the history of The Hunger Games as a novella or something. The author tried to do a lot.

Oh no. It's okay. We still have two and a half months left, Hopefully, you find new favourites! 😃

@ mayashika

Hey! No I haven't read bad mommy. But I will surely add it to my tbr. I think tarryn fisher's books are pretty hit and miss. Her fu*k marriage is a bad book. So bad that I wonder who gave it permission to publish.

I am also looking forward for sarah hogle next read. She left such a positive impact with her writing that I now have very high expectations from her.

@anam I am so glad you like verity. Being a coho fan makes me giddy learning that.

I understand why people may not like alchemist. But i find it quite relatable. May be because I have a strong gut feeling system. Sometimes I get a hunch beforehand how things are going to go. And the alchemist celebrates this idea. There were pretty cool lines too like " it doesn't matter what goes into our mouth. What comes out matters the most".

Guys, you all recommend so many good books. I feel so pressured. This life times seems to short. 😔

"So many books, so little time"

Finished reading The Shining a couple of nights back. Will post my opinion in a while.

@Shreya

Do tell how you liked his work once you've read it!

I loved that the story delved deeper into the whole political part of it, but what made it less enjoyable was how predictable it was. I really don't like it when I can predict the entire story. The one thing that I liked in Mockingjay was Peeta's character. He was flawlessly good in the first two books, and I didn't like it. I actually liked Gale more in them. Well, I liked Gale in the third book too, but Peeta's character finally had some shades and I really liked that. About your question; I could totally see why Gale would go the way he did, but I can't imagine Katniss being with him after that last part. Besides, with what she went through, Peeta was the only one who could support her, not Gale (imo). (And that was me trying to be non-spoiler-y. Don't know if I managed it.😆)

Btw, who's your favourite character in the whole trilogy? Mine is Cinna. *spoilers* I loved how quietly rebellious he was. He was opposing the Capitol all this time but never went with all guns blazing. Instead, he let his talent do the talking. I always love intelligent characters more than others, and according to me, Cinna was a genius! The real hero, who practically made Mockingjay, and pushed the rebellion to a place where it spread all over the country. Even dead he was a hero.

Originally posted by: Anam...

Finished reading The Shining a couple of nights back. Will post my opinion in a while.

I just started reading it - only 3 chapters in. I don't think I'll be able to finish it in time. 😔

Originally posted by: Shanam_77

My favourites this year also, includes" you deserve each other " by Sara Hoogle. It's a pretty perfect book. Highly recommended. Also I read the alchemist this year. Yeah i was very late to the party. But my mind was blown. I want everyone whether who reads often or not, to read this book. I am not into self help books but this one just stood out for me. The unhoneymooners By Christina Lauren, the wives by tarryn fisher and simply wild by K. A TUCKER were fun reads too.

Wow, so many books that I haven't read. The Unhoneymooners is still in my tbr, and I've tried reading The Alchemist a couple of times without success. Everyone seems to like it except me. 😆