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Sep. 2nd, 2015 08:28 pm1. Almost through streaming the netflix 13 part television series Bloodline, which is really good. It's noir thriller family drama by the folks behind Damages -- except I think I like it better than Damages.
Three siblings kill their older brother, the series is about why they do it, and dark brooding secrets beneath their happy family veneer in a quiet Florida Keys township.
2. Wed Reading Meme
I may live to regret this, but I've sort of joined two bookclubs again. The first one, MD's book club which actually read my book, is doing The Light Between the Oceans by M.L Steadman this month, which I'm approximately 30-40% of the way through. (I keep going to sleep while reading it on the Long Island Railroad commuter train on my way to and from work. Don't fall asleep on the subway portion of the ride, mainly because I can't sleep on a subway. The mere fact of being on the subway, in the hard plastic seats, surrounded by various noisy passengers, keeps me awake. The LIRR in comparison is rather relaxing.) Next month is a doozy, reading The Boys in the Boat - a non-fiction book about the 1930s American Rowing Team that won the Olympic Gold Medal - they were all working class, from Washington State. And it was on the cusp of WWII - yes, the Olympics that were held in Nazi Germany. The other is Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - which my mother despised but everyone else I know appears to have loved.
For some reason all these books take place between 1929-1945. Not sure how that happened.
Am rather looking forward to the next two books. Light Between the Oceans however, isn't that good. Oh don't get me wrong, it's well written in places. The writer has a nifty turn of phrase, and is rather poetic with her description. But, the plot and characters feel a little stale, and I feel as if I've read it all before.
Anywho...The Light Between the Oceans takes place in Australia. It's about a man who barely survived WWI, with some serious emotional scars. He becomes a lighthouse keeper - in part because it has a set group of rules and routines, it's solitary, and uneventful. He falls in love with a local gal on the mainland, who basically throws herself at him and insists on marrying him and joining him working as a lighthouse keeper on Janus. They try to have kids. She keeps having one horrible miscarriage after another. One day, a boat washes up on shore with a dead man and a crying baby in its bow. She pressures her husband into letting her keep the child and raising it as if it were their own -- even if the proper protocol is to call it in and check to see if anyone is missing a child. But instead they bury the man's body and pretend the child is theirs. No one knew about the latest miscarriage, so they can get away with it.
That's the set up. I don't know what happens next - haven't gotten that far yet. Uhm, don't spoil me, if you know.
What I'm reading next? Probably Boys in the Boat and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Should be interesting reading both at the same time. You can actually do that on the Kindle, just flip between them.
As you can see -- I got burned out on the romance novels.
My mother is doing a great job of hand-selling my own novel, Doing Time on Planet Earth. She's managed to convince ten people from her book club to read it, and possibly buy it. So far, four people have already purchased it and they all enjoyed it. (The book is getting mixed reviews. Good reads has 10 ratings, 1 one star, 1 two star, 1 three star, 3 four star, and 4 five star.)
I'm hoping the people who liked it - recommend it to other people. Co-workers responses have been mixed. Those who liked the book -- told me, those who didn't never said anything. It was a huge risk bringing it up at work -- because if someone hated it, awkward. And yes, I got some of that. It's the law of averages. Heck not everyone likes the books I listed above. My mother despised the best-selling, award winning novel Life After Life. The whole thing is terribly subjective. I'm learning to take my father's advice and separate my ego from it.
Three siblings kill their older brother, the series is about why they do it, and dark brooding secrets beneath their happy family veneer in a quiet Florida Keys township.
2. Wed Reading Meme
I may live to regret this, but I've sort of joined two bookclubs again. The first one, MD's book club which actually read my book, is doing The Light Between the Oceans by M.L Steadman this month, which I'm approximately 30-40% of the way through. (I keep going to sleep while reading it on the Long Island Railroad commuter train on my way to and from work. Don't fall asleep on the subway portion of the ride, mainly because I can't sleep on a subway. The mere fact of being on the subway, in the hard plastic seats, surrounded by various noisy passengers, keeps me awake. The LIRR in comparison is rather relaxing.) Next month is a doozy, reading The Boys in the Boat - a non-fiction book about the 1930s American Rowing Team that won the Olympic Gold Medal - they were all working class, from Washington State. And it was on the cusp of WWII - yes, the Olympics that were held in Nazi Germany. The other is Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - which my mother despised but everyone else I know appears to have loved.
For some reason all these books take place between 1929-1945. Not sure how that happened.
Am rather looking forward to the next two books. Light Between the Oceans however, isn't that good. Oh don't get me wrong, it's well written in places. The writer has a nifty turn of phrase, and is rather poetic with her description. But, the plot and characters feel a little stale, and I feel as if I've read it all before.
Anywho...The Light Between the Oceans takes place in Australia. It's about a man who barely survived WWI, with some serious emotional scars. He becomes a lighthouse keeper - in part because it has a set group of rules and routines, it's solitary, and uneventful. He falls in love with a local gal on the mainland, who basically throws herself at him and insists on marrying him and joining him working as a lighthouse keeper on Janus. They try to have kids. She keeps having one horrible miscarriage after another. One day, a boat washes up on shore with a dead man and a crying baby in its bow. She pressures her husband into letting her keep the child and raising it as if it were their own -- even if the proper protocol is to call it in and check to see if anyone is missing a child. But instead they bury the man's body and pretend the child is theirs. No one knew about the latest miscarriage, so they can get away with it.
That's the set up. I don't know what happens next - haven't gotten that far yet. Uhm, don't spoil me, if you know.
What I'm reading next? Probably Boys in the Boat and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Should be interesting reading both at the same time. You can actually do that on the Kindle, just flip between them.
As you can see -- I got burned out on the romance novels.
My mother is doing a great job of hand-selling my own novel, Doing Time on Planet Earth. She's managed to convince ten people from her book club to read it, and possibly buy it. So far, four people have already purchased it and they all enjoyed it. (The book is getting mixed reviews. Good reads has 10 ratings, 1 one star, 1 two star, 1 three star, 3 four star, and 4 five star.)
I'm hoping the people who liked it - recommend it to other people. Co-workers responses have been mixed. Those who liked the book -- told me, those who didn't never said anything. It was a huge risk bringing it up at work -- because if someone hated it, awkward. And yes, I got some of that. It's the law of averages. Heck not everyone likes the books I listed above. My mother despised the best-selling, award winning novel Life After Life. The whole thing is terribly subjective. I'm learning to take my father's advice and separate my ego from it.