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We are halfway done with Week 16 and you read a new book from one of your favorite authors.

This discussion thread is solely for your progress (book discussions go in individual threads).


What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)

Did you enjoy the book?

Why do you like this author?

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?

I didn't plan to read 2 books for this week, but with the events, it was impossible for me to do otherwise.

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)
Funny Girl by Nick Hornby
I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching #4) by Terry Pratchett

Did you enjoy the books?
Midnight was a great conclusion to the previous books for the girl and it was very nice to see her grew up along the different books. I'm curious about the #5 due for later this year, I hope it won't be disappointing.
Funny Girl was interesting and easy to read, I enjoyed the characters as usual with this author. However, I found the story less deep and interesting than others of his books.

Why do you like this author?
Pratchett because he was really good at metaphors and addressed lots of society problems. Discworld is a world really unusual.
Hornby because I'm not interested in contemporary fiction, but I really enjoy how he writes it and his stories have often an original background.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?
For Pratchett, I'll say Good Omens (standalone about the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse) or The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching #1, a young witch series in the Discworld).
For Hornby, I don't have the same tastes as his readers, so About a Boy could be a safer recommendation. My fav are A Long Way Down (theme: depression/suicide) and Slam (theme: teen pregnancy).

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)
Horns by Joe Hill

Did you enjoy the book?
I loved it. I was very hesitant going in because the premise just seemed goofy. But the story was much deeper than I was expecting and the horns really made sense. The story was very moving and much more emotional than I was expecting.

Why do you like this author?
I started with NOS4A2, just because he's King's son. I liked it and have it 4 stars if I remember right. I then read Heart-Shaped Box, which was amazing. It's the only book that's actually been scary to me, likely because I tend to be scared by ghost stories. Hill does a good job with developing the characters and providing details, while balancing thisl with action.

It's a small thing, but I also enjoy that his stories seem to live in the same world with little references to characters from another book. That's always fun to see.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?
That's an extremely hard choice. I think I liked Heart-Shaped Box a little more.It had a little more action and a different feel. Horns is more emotionally focused while Heart-Shaped Box is more focused on moving the action along. I'm trying to reveal as little as possible about Horns because I think it's important to go in blind.

As a disclaimer, his books are very graphic so not recommended for those who may be offended by language/sex/gore (more graphic than King, by far).

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)
Listening to the audiobook of "Picture Perfect" by Jodi Picoult.

Did you enjoy the book?
It's pretty good, but not great.

Why do you like this author?
I like her storylines and characters.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?
Lone Wolf, Handle With Care, The Storyteller, Sing You Home, or My Sister's Keeper.

I am woefully behind on my challenge. I mean, technically I'm not terribly behind since I've read a little out of order here and there, but it does make participating in the discussions a little more difficult doing it that way so I'm trying to get back on track. I did squeeze a short book in for this week. Originally I'd intended to read it for the short story criteria and read Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane for this. Things had to be shuffled around to accomodate though! So, instead, I went with ...

What did you read this week? The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Did you enjoy the book? I am a complete sucker for fairy tales and fables so I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the idea of young witches and wizards in the Potterverse growing up on these fables the same way I grew up on Hans Christian Andersen and Disney.

Why do you like this author? There's something so magical and familiar to me about Rowling and her wizarding world. It feels like home to me, like visiting my childhood. It is brilliant when a book/world fully transports you.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author? Anyone who hasn't read the Harry Potter series really should. How lucky to be experiencing it for the first time!

What did you read this week?
The Last Boyfriend By Nora Roberts

Did you enjoy the book?
I sure did! But to be honest I don't think I have ever read one of Nora Roberts books that I didn't like, lol

Why do you like this author?
She is one of my all time favorite authors. I love re-reading her books!

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?
Oh this is a hard question for sure!
Taming Natasha and the rest of The Stanislaskis Series (there are 6 books)
Captivated and the rest of the Donovan Legacy Series (there are 4 books)
Born in Fire and the rest of the Born in Trilogy (3 books in this series)***re-read these ones all the time!
Dance Upon the Air this is another great series. (3 books in it)
Something a little newer would be The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy starting with Dark Witch
A good non-series one is Midnight Bayou
I could add lots more but these are some good ones to start with!

What did you read this week?

The Harder They Come by T.C. Boyle

Did you enjoy the book?

Yes, I gave it 5 stars. Here's my review:
/review/show...

Why do you like this author?

Boyle takes on tough issues, writes clearly, and can be very funny, too!

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?

The Tortilla Curtain - my introduction to Boyle
The Women - recent work about Frank Lloyd Wright
The Road to Wellville - older book with lots of humor!

What did you read this week? The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary

Did you enjoy the book? Yes, I liked how Shelley really developed and came to an understanding with her mother. But I knew what her ultimate choice in boyfriends was going to be, so it felt pretty stupid to just read what happened. Also, the ending was EXTREMELY vague.

Why do you like this author? She's been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. I loved her Ramona the Pest series (in fact, I still do).

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?

All the books in this series: Ramona the Pest

All the books in this series: Henry Huggins

All the books in this trilogy: First Love: A Treasury of Three Favorites ; Jean and Johnny ; Fifteen ; and The Luckiest Girl

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please) Hope to Die by James Patterson

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Why do you like this author? I like mysteries, and sometimes his are good, sometimes they aren't. But they are easy reads.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author? Invisible

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please) Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth by J.R.R. Tolkien

Did you enjoy the book? I enjoyed the second half of it more than the first, mainly because the first half is a variant on stories from The Silmarillion and also quite a bit from The Children of Húrin, so they were very familiar to me.

The second half had a lot of new material that I'd never read before (though some bits I'd heard people talk about online). I liked to hear about why Gandalf picked Bilbo to join the Dwarves in The Hobbit. It was kind of like a book version of DVD extras.

Why do you like this author? I love how much detail Tolkien added to the world he created, this book is a really good example of how much thought he put into his creation and the way he played around with things in order to make everything work. It makes it feel like a living, breathing, real life history.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author? I think that The Hobbit is a pretty good introduction to Tolkien as it's so much more accessible than The Lord of the Rings. Otherwise I'd recommend trying something like Letters from Father Christmas or Roverandom for something light-hearted and more of a bitesize fantasy book.

What did you read this week?
-- I read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl

Did you enjoy the book?
-- Sadly, not as much as I'd wished.

Why do you like this author?
-- I like the songs and crazy elements in his books. I also feel like I know him more since I read his autobiography, Boy: Tales of Childhood.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?
-- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)
The Cuckoo's Calling Robert Galbraith

Did you enjoy the book?
Somewhat, it was a little slower than I would have liked.

Why do you like this author?
I like her style, and her dark humour at times. Very dry and a bit sarcastic, but I enjoy it.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Still prefer her harry potter books above all else so far XD

What did you read this week? Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Did you enjoy the book? Not really. It was actually quite dull.

Why do you like this author? After reading this book, The Twits & remembering Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, I'm wondering now if I actually do like him, or just that I like some of the books that he's written.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author? The Witches - I absolutely love it.

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)
Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

Did you enjoy the book? Yes, as always.

Why do you like this author? Where do I begin? Penny is the author of the Inspector Gamache series, which takes place for the most part, in the town of Three Pines, somewhere in Canada. I say somewhere, because this town does not appear on any map. One only finds this town when lost. The inhabitants of the town include the crazed, but genius poet, Ruth, Myrna, the huge and effusive bookstore owner, and the married artists Peter and Clara Morrow. Inspector Gamache and his colleagues include his right hand, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and the sinister Superintendent Sylvain Francoeur. Why the emphasis on the cast of characters? Because these people will become part of your reading family. More important, these stories are not just about who-done-it. They are about people and how death and tragedy and the decisions we make reverberate in our lives and in our families, both blood and community.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author? Start at the beginning. The first in the Inspector Gamache series, Still Life. Here you will meet new friends and fall in love with Inspector Gamache, Three Pines, and all it has to offer.

What did you read this week? Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Why do you like this author? I find it hard to pinpoint why I like this author. It's just something about the way he writes. I enjoy how he places both strange elements and very normal, everyday elements in his books. It's hard to explain.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author? Kafka on the Shore

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)
The Cuckoo's Calling By Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling

Did you enjoy the book?

Yes! It took me a few attempts over some time to get past the halfway point, but this time I did it and I really enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to the next book!

Why do you like this author?

Two words: Harry. Potter.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?

Obviously, I will always say any of the Harry Potter series. However, if you're looking for an adult read the book I read this week would definitely be a good choice!

What did you read this week?
Misery by Stephen King

Did you enjoy the book? A lot!

Why do you like this author?One of the things I love is how he is able to write different genres. I also like how their books make references between them, placing them in the same universe, despite being completely different.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author? It depends, if it's classic horror what somebody is looking for, I would recommend something like Salem's Lot. But in general, I would recommend Different Seasons. It's not horror, but is awesome!