New Providence Memorial Library's Online Reading Group discussion

This week, I'm shamelessly borrowing a question that I've seen on another online group that I belong to. It's a fun question and one that is easy for me to answer.

What's the last book you read that kept you up past your bedtime? Was it because you couldnt' put it down or was it so interesting - or scary - that you couldn't fall asleep?

Practically any book I'm reading keeps me up at night! That's not only because the story has me engaged but because most of the time, my only designated reading time is before bed. And it always seems that those last 50 pages take the longest. I think I'll be finished by the time I go to bed, it seems that there is just a little bit more, and then it starts getting past midnight and I know that it's way past my bedtime and I'll pay for it tomorrow. But that doesn't mean that I won't do it again!

What about you?

Last one that kept me up, just to find out what happened, was "The Diviners", and I wasn't even all that close to the end, I just kept reading. I'd gotten "The Diviners" in paperback from a Goodreads giveaway, and that was why I was reading at night.
Mostly I've been borrowing e-books from the library, and I read while commuting. For the e-books, there's a definitive end to reading (getting off the train), and incentive not to pick it up when I get home, lest I run out of book the next day on my commute.

Just the other night I stayed up very late to finish "The Ocean at the End of the Lane". I wanted to finish it to see what happened. Strange book. Then again, I guess I should expect strange from Neil Gaiman. I'm still thinking about it because I've no clue how many stars to give it. Difficult to rate such an unusual book. Did I like it? I am not sure. But, it did keep me reading!

Good question, IMHO

the following 2 books are ones I've read in the last year that "kept me up at night"

Burial Rites

by Hannah Kent (Goodreads Author)

A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?



Broken

by Karin Fossum, Charlotte Barslund (Translator)

A woman wakes up in the middle of the night. A strange man is in her bedroom. She lies there in silence, paralyzed with fear.The woman is an author and the man one of her characters, one in a long line that waits in her driveway for the time when she’ll tell their stories. He is so desperate that he has resorted to breaking into her house and demanding that she begin. He, the author decides, is named Alvar Eide, forty-two years old, single,works in a gallery. He lives a quiet, orderly life and likes it that way—no demands, no unpleasantness. Until one icy winter day when a young drug addict, skinny and fragile, walks into the gallery. Alvar gives her a cup of coffee to warm her up. And then one day she appears on his doorstep. Broken is an unconventional, subtle, and disturbing mystery from a master of the form.

I also read Neil Gaimon's "Ocean at the End of the Lane" WEIRD.... not one I'd recommend. I just didn't "get it"

Sangeeta - yes, weird! Are all of his books this strange, I wonder.

Marilyn - Funny, my first foray into Gaiman's world was "American Gods", and relatively recently, too, I might add. It kept me reading, but when all was said and done, I decided that it wouldn't bring me back, so only gave it 2 stars.

K - he is such a popular author that I think I'll give him one more try.

Anyone have suggestions for the best Gaiman book?
I don't mind quirky at all, loved "The Night Circus".

I really enjoyed The Ocean at the End of the Lane. But I have to say I'm reluctant to see it if it's made into a movie--some of the images are so clear in my mind that if they messed it up, I'd be irritated.

I really enjoyed Murder in Peking and stayed up late reading it.

I also enjoyed The Winter People a lot and couldn't put it down. (I did pick up a few of the author's other books and didn't enjoy them nearly as much.)


Another page turner is Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness. The author lived in Summit and mentions some local landmarks.


I tried The Martian, and others feel like they can't put it down, but I just couldn't pull through it. Should make a good movie.

I'm sorry if I repost book suggestions--with three small children, my reading time can be infrequent sometimes!

There are many books that keep me up, also because it is such a quiet time to read. The latest is: "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. I found the story very engaging and I kept rooting for the male character to get his problems sorted out. Having no one make any comments when I get emotional reading sad parts is an added benefit.