Good Company | 
pickThis was read for bookclub this Friday. I guess this is the year of reading books that contain actors, actors who are duplicitous, LIARS! Self CENTERED! CHEATERS! Audition had an actress, Tilt had an actor. Good Company has a couple of actors. I‘m just gobsmacked that this whole book hinges on a decision of an actor not acting or making up a story at a very critical point in his marriage. Instead he tries on the truth. What the eff. Sex advice👇🏼
pickThis book was a bit of a slow start. I wasn‘t sure I would like it, however the character development hooked me . It was a believable look at the lives of everyday actors in New Year and L.a as well as the relationship family and friends go through , through their lives growing and changing. Easy, quick summer read.
so-soThis was just okay for me. It was character driven, so there‘s not much actually happening. I prefer plot driven stories!
#bookspinbingo
#read2025
Solid and engaging, but not riveting, story, excellent narration, as usual by Marin Ireland.
Very close to finishing this one. I can't understand🤷🏾 how I've ended up reading two novels in a row about married life.
so-soThe first half of this book started out with promise, and the second half fell flat, for me. I was interested to see the plot twists unfold as the story started, but then it all ended kind of cliche with cheating, lies, vague depressing things, distance, and kind of “rich people problems”. I think I have to give this a So-So to be honest, even though at the beginning it was feeling more Pick.
so-soThis was underwhelming. Writing was fine but the characters were familiar types—their problems, reactions, outcomes equally familiar which isn‘t a problem if the way the story is told is engaging. In this case, what happened after Flora found the wedding ring her husband Julian told her he lost was fine—a story that jumped between past & present as it meandered towards its inevitable conclusion—but not particularly memorable.
After snow last weekend, I have a chance to actually enjoy reading in the yard today. Supposed to snow again next week, so better enjoy it while I can!
1. The House at Sea‘s End, a Ruth Galloway mystery by Elly Griffith
2. Audiobooks
3. I DNF‘d A Ghost in the Throat and swapped it for the tagged book. The writing is beautiful, but story‘s hard to concentrate on via audio.
pickI finished my #lmpbc book for this round in time to pass it off to @BennettBookworm tomorrow! Things to like, things to criticize… I‘m looking forward to reading my group members‘ comments in the margins in a few months!
pickI liked this better than The Nest ( which I did like, but the cast of unlikeable characters was hard sometimes) CDS writes life-like fallible characters and in the is case I found it easy to have empathy for them even if their thoughts/actions, sometimes, weren‘t reflective of their best selves
Happy Thursday Littens
so-soThis book explores friendship, marriage, adultery, coming of age, parenthood, the acting life, job satisfaction, LIFE satisfaction & more, most of it well. There were quite a few thoughts that resonated with me & I mostly enjoyed the meandering story. But I didn't connect with a single character in this book. They all had their good points; I understood why they acted (& reacted) as they did but I didn't particularly care about any of them.
pickWhat do you do when your best friend and your husband both break your trust?
This book was good and I understand why it ended the way it did, but it felt so incomplete to me. I would have preferred a more concrete decision from the heroine but it was more true to life with the ending.
3.5⭐️
pickI loved The Nest and had high hopes for this. While it didn‘t quite reach that level for me, it came pretty darn close. I love Sweeney‘s characterizations and think she is an absolute master of domestic drama. 👍🏼
pickThe best thing about Sweeney‘s debut, The Nest, was how beautifully she wove together many characters from a large family. When she scaled down to two couples in Good Company, the magic was lost. While this look at the interplay of marriage, infidelity, friendship, and ambition was good, it was a bit of a sophomore slump in comparison. I‘ll still read her next novel, though. #audiobook
9-9-21: My 91st finished book of 2021! Flora and Julian struggled as actors for years trying to keep their theater company-Good Company-afloat. A move to LA brought them each success plus reunited them with their best friends Margot and David. But when Flora finds her husband‘s missing wedding ring, he lost it 10 years prior, their lives are changed forever. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼📖#️⃣9️⃣1️⃣
pickI‘m really liking Cynthia‘s books lately. Another family story, something light and not too drama filled while busy working. Def a good one.
*whew* Classes started two weeks ago, & it's been a whirlwind. But I'm SO thankful to be back in the classroom full-time with "live" students. My reading suffered this month, but the books I did read were good!
1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2 DNF
And I never posted that I finished about 12 hours in #20in4, which was good for me, since two of those days were work days! @Andrew65
pickThis quiet novel reminded me a lot of Crossing to Safety. Two married couples have been close friends for decades when a secret comes to light. The novel is less about the big reveal and more about the relationships that shape us. The pairs: a TV star & her Dr. husband and a voice actress and her a theatre company director spouse. They‘ve shared their ups & downs through the years. I appreciated the tender exploration of the choices they‘ve made.
pickMercy. D'Aprix Sweeney did NOT disappoint. This was a solid 4🌟 for me all the way through... Until the final few chapters, where it swung to a 5. Beautifully written, wonderful characters, highly recommend.
Also took me to 7:20 for #20in4. @Andrew65
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not much reading this week because it was the first week of the fall semester & my husband & older daughter headed to Boston today to move her into BU for her sophomore year. But I did manage to squeeze in 1:54 today to start #20in4. This book is not disappointing.
"Flora wasn't looking for the ring when she found it."
So far, so good!
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
I can only handle so much of Radium Girls at a time, so starting this much-anticipated novel - I LOVED The Nest! Hoping this lives up to expectations!
pickA great character driven novel of people that have known each other from college & are pursuing careers in the theater.The difficult choices they have made.Can it be that the couple seen as the ones with the most enviable marriage might be derailed by a secret from the past? I read the author‘s first book The Nest ,remember really liking parts of it & being dissatisfied with other elements of it , but can‘t tell you why 5 years later.😃
so-soI felt I was reading the whole book waiting to see what the story was actually about. Not great felt like waste of time
Flora wasn‘t looking for the ring when she found it .
#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl
panI thought this was going to be such a great book to read and I just could not get into it. I thought it was super slow and I was really bored with it. I didn‘t connect with the characters and found it a bit annoying. I think maybe I was expecting it to be like The Husband‘s Secret and it wasn‘t really what I wanted.
An impromptu trip to my local bookshop resulted in two more books to add to my gigantic TBR stack. Just couldn't resist these two very different books though! #mountTBR #summerreads2021
pickONE BOOK COMPLETED
ModernMrsDarcy Reader‘s Weekend
July 23-25, 2021
#MMDBookClub
Flora Mancini has been happily married for more than twenty years. But everything she thought she knew about herself, her marriage, and her relationship with her best friend, Margot, is upended when she stumbles upon an envelope containing her husband‘s wedding ring—the one he claimed he lost one summer when their daughter, Ruby, was five.
B I N G O x 2
ModernMrsDarcy Reader‘s Weekend
July 23-25, 2021
#MMDBookClub
… and off I go …
ModernMrsDarcy Reader‘s Weekend
July 23-25, 2021
#MMDBookClub
Midway...so far soooo good
pickGood Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney is a wonderful character driven book. I enjoyed the main characters are the realistic issues in their lives. This book deals with marriage, friendship, family and career. I just loved how this book didn't only focus on the now but the before. I loved the different timelines and how you eventually got the whole story. I also wanted to add that the cover is beautiful.
so-soThis novel is one of the deepest human emotions, but sadly, I felt that Sweeney never got there completely. It seemed that the characters were not unique enough, not memorable enough. For the first half of the novel, I couldn‘t keep who was who straight. Not a good sign. This book was fine, but will fade into the background.
pickBook 67
An easy read that explores topics of relationships with family and friends, careers, and forgiveness. Flora learns her relationships aren't exactly what she thought when she finds her husband's lost wedding ring while preparingfor her daughter's graduation. I was invested while reading but have no significant thoughts on The Good Company, so 3.5 stars.
#BOTM Hey Littens , a question. I‘ve only been a member since November, and picked at least one book every month. What happens if you don‘t pick ? Back in the day they just sent you a book but has that changed? I might gift a subscription so want to know.
pickI definitely preferred the Nest over this one but this was good summer reading
I want to know if I have siblings, it has been hinted that I do...if true, I wish they'd come say hello. 3mo