I know I mentioned it before but I hated “Where The Crawdads Sing” with a hate I do not usually feel. I am from North Carolina and it got so many things just completely wrong. Our coastline is nothing like what is portrayed in the book. Other geography of the state is completely wrong too. It was very poorly researched AND there is a similar crime in the author’s past, so that is beyond creepy. Just a really awful book IMO.
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I have heard all this, and have had little interest in reading it. Especially the stuff about the author. Definitely feels too creepy.
I liked the book but did not love it.
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I found the book compelling, finished it quickly. (Of course it was at a time that we were on a beach vacation, great escape from grueling job. So perhaps any novel would have been enjoyed.). However I like getting the feedback about the inaccurate setting and the author’s background. Good to know.
I didn’t care for it either, probably moreso because of the hype that made me want to read it. And from the previews, the movie looks pretty bad.
That’s exactly my view of it. I liked it, but not as much as most people.
I read it when it first came out, and wondered if I’d missed something. When my book club read it last year, I liked it better, just a bit. I won’t rush out to see the movie.
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I recently finished this quick read. Sort of a cross between Maeve Binchy stories (but not romance theme) and Broadchurch (but not as creepy crimes) and Shetland (but more lighthearted). Told in first person, breezy narration by a modern day wife/mother who is Guarda (police officer) in a small irish village. Not great literature, but I enjoyed it.
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I feel bad just slamming a book and not offering anything else up so here you go. For a different book set on the Outer Banks, I got my daughter a copy of “The Baddest Girl On The Planet” which is set partially on the Outer Banks (where the main character grew up, but she also has adventures elsewhere). I have not read it, but my D23 liked it and she has very discriminating taste, so I trust that it is pretty good. (For reference some of her favorite authors are Barbara Kingsolver, Joan Didion, and Patti Smith.) I do plan on reading it, but just have some library books checked out that I have to get through first. The author lives in NC.
https://www.blairpub.com/shop/the-baddest-girl-on-the-planet
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This may be a bit lowbrow, but I just finished “James Patterson” by James Patterson and it was a delightful surprise. I like his Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club, and Michael Bennett books, but am not a big fan of most others. I listened to his narration of the audiobook memoir while waiting for Libby to send I was looking forward to, and I’m glad I spent the time on a heartening and entertaining read.
Good to know–I’ve read all of the Alex Cross series. I didn’t care for the Women’s Murder Club or any of his other series. I like that Patterson’s foundation provides scholarships to college students and is involved in efforts to promote children’s literacy.
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I read all the Alex McKnight books by Steve Hamilton and started reading his Nick Mason series. Very good. I am still on the Joe Pickett CJ Box books (waiting for my library holds). I am also still on the Paul Doiron Mike Bowditch books (really excellent, really well written)–have Hatchet Island on hold at my local library. The CJ Box books are a bit uneven but improve through the years. They always deal with a topical issue (tech, resource management, wildlife vs. humans etc.).
I get obsessed with series. How dare someone check out the next book that I need! I just started Inspector Bruno (Martin Walker) and I’m really enjoying it. It reminds me a bit of Camilleri’s Montalbano series with its emphasis on local Dordogne culture and food.
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I just finished The Latecomer and enjoyed it…quick easy read.
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@happy1 I also just finished the Latecomer. I enjoyed it , too. Great story.
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I am the outlier here - I really did not like the Latecomer. I had read and enjoyed her earlier books - the plot and admission, so I had been excited about this new one. I just didn’t care enough for any of the characters.
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Just got back from a reading vacation in Vermont - both husband and I had Covid so we did not have the energy to do as much hiking as we normally would have. What I read:
The Lincoln Highway Amor Towles
Reading it for the for CC Book Club so won’t say much. Entertaining, but I had major reservations about it. Should make a good discussion.
Frankenstein - or A Modern Prometheus - Mary Shelley
For some reason, in the last year I’ve seen a lot of references to Shelley as the real originator of sci-fi as a genre and I realized I’ve never read the book (or seen any of the movies.) It’s quite short and tells the story in a very round-about way. I’m happy to finally have read it. Interestingly I read a DK Illustrated Classics version, which made it seem like a kid’s book to me even though the text was unabridged. There’s extra material explaining references and short histories of topics like Romanticism to put things in context.
Where Blood Lies C. S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #17)
I love this murder mystery series set in Regency England. (Mostly - this particular book is set in France during Napoleon’s first exile.) Each book is a stand alone mystery, but there’s an overall mystery involving Sebastian’s parentage and a pretty good love story in the middle books, so you should read them in order.
The Human Division - John Scalzi
This is set in The Old Man’s War universe, but I don’t think it matters if you have read them. Like most of Scalzi’s books it’s a huge amount of fun. Lot’s of snark from the characters. I love the churro loving alien - the final bonus short story is really touching.
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I’ve got that on my library list, looking forward to it!
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My H is a CJ Box fan–really likes his books. He shares your opinion that the writing, while generally good, is uneven.
I like Steve Hamilton because I’m from Michigan originally and love that the Alex McKnight series is set in the UP!! A friend’s husband, who is from the UP, recently had a stroke. I gave him my Steve Hamilton books to read during recovery–he had a long trip from our small town in Central MA to his rehab hospital in Boston. He loved the books.
Haven’t read the NIck Mason series–are the books set in Michigan?
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The first Nick Mason book is set in Chicago and the protagonist is a Chicago native who is in a unique dependency/bondage situation with a Chicago crime lord. But the settings move around the country based on Mason’s current “assignment.”
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Also just read The Latecomer and I enjoyed it. I actually thought it got much better as it went along, especially with the later characters. I enjoyed The Plot and Admission, too, but I did think The Plot flagged a little, and it got pretty dark.
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