book week: what I’m reading & link party
This has been a fun week. Thanks to all of you for sharing your favorites in each category. We have a pretty great resource of books to refer back to!
Today is the big link party day where we get to tell each other what we’re reading.
Me? I’m reading The House at Riverton by Kate Morton.
I never thought I’d say this, but I prefer reading from the kindle app on my ipad. I was resistant at first, but it really is quite convenient.
I’ve read some great books on the ipad – my most recents were The Forgotten Garden {also by Kate Morton and so amazing} and The Dressmaker {loved that one very much}. Once I finished those I was searching online for a new book. A few days later The House at Riverton showed up at my doorstep. Apparently I one-click purchased the real book. Dangerous thing, that one-click purchase button.
So here I am, reading a real book. It is “a gorgeous debut novel set in England between the wars. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, it is the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all and kept a secret for decades.” {from the amazon description}. I’m only a quarter of the way through it, but the story is proving to be captivating. I recommend it.
Okay, now for the fun part: your turn to link up and share what you are reading!
Feel free to take the title loosely – if you’d rather share your favorite book or something you’ve been wanting to read, go for it.
Here’s the deal:
1. link to your blog post where you tell us what you’re reading
2. add the button above to the bottom of your post to let your readers know they, too, can join the party!
{copy & paste the code below for a quick way to add the button}
<div align="center"><a href="http://jonesdesigncompany.com/things-i-like/read-link-party/" title="what i'm reading"><img src="http://cdn.jonesdesigncompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/read-link.png" alt="what i'm reading" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
Ready, set, go!
Cheri
Aaaaah! I loved The Forgotten Garden! I highly recommend The Thirteenth Tale….I loved it and asked for a recommendation at a little bookstore for something similar and that’s when they suggested The Forgotten Garden.
Anne
I enjoyed Kate Morton’s books too – and if you like the Downton-esque aspects, The House at Tyneford is also worth a try. But perhaps give it a little time between the two, or it’ll start to feel like same-old, same-old (I can say from experience).
Michele @ Moonfield Lane
Oooh, another Downton-ish read! Thanks for this party, Emily. So fun!
Jenn
Have so enjoyed this series! Will be checking out the books for girls list for sure. Have you ever read A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken? It’s incredible. Love story of young couple in the 60s influenced by C.S. Lewis’s writing (and friendship). Faith-related without the cheese factor you mentioned yesterday. It’s one I could read annually. Also currently enjoying rereading the Anne of Green Gables series.
Harbormom
Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth (a real ‘meat loaf’ of a book) was mesmerizing. It follows the lives of a peasant stone-cutter, certain of the nobility and church hierarchy through a period of the Crusades. Sounds dull and boring, but I couldn’t put it down (nor could any of my friends who have read it). And it’s extremely informative about the social strata, living conditions for the very poor and the extremely wealthy, plus how all those cathedrals were built back in the early teens (12th century) of civilization. I am now reading his trilogy of the century beginning with the eruption of WW I. I have read Fall of Giants, which takes the reader through World War I, and will begin Winter of the World after I have taken a break with some Faye Kellerman, Nora Roberts, etc., to clear my mind! I love this book-reading blog-share! I used to spend an average of $50/week on books at Costco, until I realized how much I was spending. Now I have to wait a little longer, but I get on the list at my library and donate to it instead.
Erin
That is one of my all time favorite books. Very long at 900 pages, but keeps you entertained the entire way through.
MollyS
I am just about finished with Atonement by Ian McEwan. These Seattle winter evenings make it easier to crawl into bed earlier and read! I finised House at Riverton recently and really enjoyed it. Thanks for the book posts — now I’ll toggle between your blog and the library hold page for ideas.
Shannon
I just finished reading The Secret Keeper, the first book I’ve read by Kate Morton and I loved it! Glad to hear her other books are just as good – may need to go pick them up!
Bryana
Have to agree with the recommendation (above) for The Pillars of the Earth. I’ve probably read it five or seven times. It’s incredible. But I think my FAVORITE book, also deserving of another read, is Beau Geste by Percival C. Wren. It was written about 100 years ago about the French Foreign Legion and has a great mystery involving a missing gem. It is mesmerizing. I had the blessing of reading a really old printing of the book, with a tattered cloth cover and yellow pages – it just added to the experience!
Kimber-Leigh
i LOVED the forgotten garden…will have to put this new one on my list!
Estela
I have not ready anything from Kate Morton but I’m a Downton Abbey fan, so I will may to read it since several people have liked it. I am currently reading “Clockwork Angels” by Kevin J. Anderson which I just grabbed randomly at the library. It’s a sci-fi-steampunk kind of book but I am enjoying what I have read so far. A story about a boy living in a town that everything has been organized and made perfect by the Watchmaker, although he wonders if there is more and then suddenly is on an unexpected adventure that leads him out of his perfect box into a different world he did not know existed. I would categorize it in the young reader category, but categorizing has never stopped me from reading a books.
I was reading some of the other comments and I have read the Thirteenth Tale last year during my vampire phase…hehe! I enjoyed it. Also I have but not read, the Pillars of the Earth it caught my attention because it describes the building of the cathedrals, thanks Harbormom for the review, I had forgotten I had it…haha!
Kathy
We have dubbed our book club, the thrifty chicks book club, which means that we have to be able to get it from the library. One of my favorites is “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd.
barb
I am currently reading Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. I highly recommend The Hawk and the Dove series by Penelope Wilcock.
Erin
I just finished reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (also wrote Seabiscuit). It’s my new favorite book. Guys will love it too, my husband actually read it first. It’s the true story of an American Olympic runner who joins the military in WWII, ends up on a life raft in the pacific and eventually in a Japanese prison camp. It’s difficult to read at times given the topic, but it’s a wonderful story of hope, redemption, and forgiveness. I highly recommend it.
Sarah
Have you read Kate Morton’s other two books? There is Distant Hours and her most recent novel that just came out in October 2012 The Secret Keeper are quite good as well!
Since I don’t blog anymore, here’s a short list of my favorites from my reading list…
Room by Emma Donoghue
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Christy
My all time favorite book is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Literally took my breath away – such a sweet story of forgiveness & unconditional love. Highly recommend!!
Mary b
Anything by Kate Morton is fantastic!!! I just finished THE SECRET KEEPER by her. Wonderful and keeps the tale twisting to the very end. Don’t miss THE DISTANT HOURS either. She truly is a gifted writer. The Thirteenh Tale is also great. As well as Sarah’s Key.
Sarah
Our book club recently read “I Capture the Castle” by Dodie Smith. Same author that wrote 101 Dalmatians. It is the story of a family living in a run down English castle in the 1930′s. Has some very unforgettable characters!
Thanks for the other recommendations. I’ve added some of them to my “want to read” list on goodreads.com!
Jennifer S.
I too love Kate Morton! I also love Lisa See, some of my favorite books of hers are Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Shanghai Girls, Peony in Love. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas are two of my all time favorites!!
Nanwv
I love to read books about people’s lives. Not Hollywood people, but men and women like you and me who went through hardships and survived. I highly recommend:
The Worst Hard Times by Timothy Egan
Same Kind Of Different As Me by Hall and Moore
Skeletons on The Sahara by Dean King
Escape From Slavery by Francis Bok
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Glass Castles by Jeanette Walls
In The Land Of White Death by Valerian Albanov
Horse Soldiers
Loving Frank
Cycling Home From Siberia
Nevertheless I Live by Mona Adkisson.
Carrie
Thank you for hosting the link party! I just posted my link. I am excited to check out The House at Riverton–it looks great!
Christi
Ooops! I added a link before I read the entire instructions! Sorry I didn’t have a blog post about what I am reading… just linked to my “pin” of the book.
What I’m Reading {Booklist Linkups} | All Manner of Inspiration
[...] for this month’s goodreads post. (I’m also linking up with another lovely blogger, Emily at JDC Designs. The visuals on her blog almost always make me swoon.) Without further wordy ado, here’s my [...]
Susie
I obviously didn’t/couldn’t figure out how to add the button to my blog…help!
Ashley
I have read the House at Riverton, The Secret Garden and just finished the Secret Keeper last night! (All Kate Morton) All very good, I would say read them all!
Barbara
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History .
Yep, that’s the name of the book I’m reading. Very interesting and riveting history of the pioneers who pushed the borders of the Western territories and who resisted the pushing. I’m even making notes in the margins!
Can’t wait to write down all of the book suggestions that interest me out of everyone else’s favorites.
SJ@SweeterStill
I just finished The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton and it’s fantastic. Actually The House at Riverton is the only one I haven’t read. The Distant Hours was my favorite so far, but The Secret Keeper is a close second.
Kathryn
Love everything Kate Morton. I read the Dressmaker too! Very good. Recently came across Gone Girl, that one was surprisingly good too, Im more historical fiction but this one was pretty gd.
Bee
I just finished The House at Riverton. Thanks for the suggestion! I really enjoyed it. It was fun to see what everyone was reading. Will you do a monthly reading link party?