Reply to post #29 (show post):
Why "of course"?

Best book so far has been Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I was so pleasantly surprised at how intriguing and well done that story was! I'd read it again in a heartbeat.

Worst book was probably Little Heaven, honestly. I think Nick Cutter hit a wall and wasn't willing to admit it, so the book suffered. The beginning was great, ending was pretty good, but the middle was tough. I don't think I'd read it again.

Chiming in on romance, I thought for a long time that romance wasn't for me. Then I read The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. It was funny, charming, and the main character was strong as hell. That made me realize that I just hadn't found the right romance books up until then. That genre is a lot larger than most people expect it to be.

Reply to post #39 (show post):
If you're ready to give some more YA romance a shot, I always recommend Amy & Roger's Epic Detour. It's really sweet and actually has a meaty plot to it too!

So far I've only read a couple of short stories, a Miss Marple, the Hammett buddy read and currently A Royal Spyness series book. Aside from some problematic stuff in The Thin Man and a so-so M/M romance short story, nothing I've read has been bad. I think I enjoyed Christie's 'The Body in the Library' best, and 'Naughty in Nice' --the Royal Spyness book-- is good fluffy fun.

I've read a lot of romance, and have managed to never read anything like this:

"The premise of women being desperate and looking for sex with handsome men circulating like sharks offering their dicks disgusted me."

In fact, tbh, this looks a lot more like The Thin Man than it does like any romance novel I've ever read. And that was a mystery.

Reply to post #43 (show post):
Maybe the best book I read for Halloween Bingo was "Men Explain Things to Me." It was so appropriate. After all, men have been terrifying women for so very long.

I'm useless in this discussion: I've really enjoyed everything I've read so far. Seriously, September has been my best reading run this year.

Reply to post #45 (show post):
Hey, that's great!

I know, right? The only books that weren't great were some random new picture books that I picked up because cute covers. And they were both good.

That's awesome, Kaethe.

Reply to post #45 (show post):
That's fabulous, Kaethe!

By and large I am very happy with my bingo reads so far, too. "Amateur sleuth" (The Amateur Corpse by Stephen Brett) reminded me why I really don't particularly miss the 1970s (what I remember from them in the first place, that is), and there were a few books that would have had a bit more potential, but almost all of my reads have been in the 3 1/2 to 5 star range. What more can you ask for?

Reply to post #44 (show post):
True. That's the impression this horrible book left me. Some romances are not as bad. Some left me feeling sick the same way as if I have eaten 3 cup cakes in a row.

Reply to post #50 (show post):
Sorry that you didn't like In the Woods. I loved that one and felt very annoyed by book #2.

I'm happy to say I'm having a pretty good streak so far.

Best: The Crucible and Left Hand of Darkness are elbowing each other, and Joyland is around, even if they raised very different emotions.

Worst: The Woman in Black, bland and boring to me.