The Next Best Book Club discussion
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What Are You Reading - Part Deux
Shannon wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Absolutely mesmerising, compelling, overwhelming. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is both harrowing and full of love. . . It's such a small world. I worked with Hanya's uncle in Hawaii and he gave me a copy of her other book, The People In The Trees, not long ago. He said it's intense, but I haven't started it. Have you read that one yet?."
Shannon, I haven't read The People in the Trees, but I've read some reviews and I will have to think about that one. Sounds kind of weird, but then that's not necessarily a bad thing. :)
Aussie author Louis Nowra wrote Into That Forest about Tasmania, inspired by stories of feral children elsewhere. I've added links in my review to the fascinating 'real' stories.My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've got A Little Life on my kindle waiting to be read and I'm definitely going to start reading it soon - I'm very intrigued by The People in the Trees too.
Currently reading Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper and also Robert Jordan's Crossroads of Twilight which is book 10 of a 14 book series that I first started reading at uni so it'll be good to finally finish it!
Currently reading Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper and also Robert Jordan's Crossroads of Twilight which is book 10 of a 14 book series that I first started reading at uni so it'll be good to finally finish it!
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Absolutely mesmerising, compelling, overwhelming. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is both harrowing and full of love.
5★ My rev..."
I shelved this one on my "Favorites" shelf.
I am currently reading Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. Also, about to begin The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner, a book to share with my son.
Fates And Furies – Lauren Groff – 4****
The book is told by the two central characters: Lotto (Fates) and Mathilde (Furies). Groff is masterful building these characters, with qualities that draw the reader into their circle. One revelation breaks the bond. Forcing first Lotto, and then Mathilde to examine their relationship. By the end I’m left feeling battered and bruised and stunned. I want to start reading it again from the beginning so I can pick up any clues Groff may have buried.
LINK to my review
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Trophy Hunt – C J Box – 3***
I like this series, mostly because I really like Joe Picket. Box gives us plenty of action, but I was dissatisfied with the ending. All the talk of “aliens,” and a too-convenient demise made me feel as if Box had run out of ideas and turned to 1950s sci-fi films for inspiration. Still, it’s a good story and a fast read.
LINK to my review
22 Britannia Road – Amanda Hodgkinson – 4****
Hodgkinson’s debut novel is a beautifully told story of how a family torn apart by war slowly comes back together. Hodgkinson divides her chapters by location/time and by character, telling parallel stories: Poland during the war, England after the war. I was engaged and interested in the story from beginning to end.
LINK to my review
June 11 - Currently ReadingTEXT –
Love Walked In / Marisa de los SantosAUDIO in the car –
Something Rotten / Jasper FfordeMP3 Player AUDIO -
Jane Steele / Lyndsay Faye
Finished reading His Bloody Project, which I loved. Today I'm going to start Nothing to Envy, Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. Looking forward to finding out a bit more about a country that I know very little.
I just started Spellcaster by Claudia Gray. I wanted something a little lighter after finishing Ariel by Sylvia Plath
Karen wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Absolutely mesmerising, compelling, overwhelming. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is both harrowing and full of love.I shelved this one on my "Favorites" shelf. .."
Me too, Karen! And I hope you enjoy Anything Is Possible as much as I did, too!
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson is another mind-twisting 'family history' that takes place during, between, and after World Wars One and Two. My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Two very different works of nonfiction ...
A Burglar’s Guide to the City – Geoff Manaugh – 3***
Manaugh looks at architecture and the central role it plays in the crime of burglary. The book begins and ends with the 19th-century New York superburglar George Leonidas Leslie, who used his training as an architect to figure out new and unexpected ways to gain entry to building. There were parts of this book that I found completely fascinating, however Manaugh has a tendency towards repetition.
LINK to my review
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Columbine – Dave Cullen – 4****
Gripping, fascinating, and horrifying. Cullen has done extensive research and made every effort to remain an impartial journalist, ferreting out facts and revealing them without judgment. The result is perhaps even more disturbing than what I thought I knew about it.
LINK to my review
Please Look After Mom – Kyung-Sook Shin – 3***
This is the story of one family’s search for their mother, who has gone missing one afternoon in a crowded Seoul subway station. The author tells the story from the perspective of four characters, and also uses second person voice for much of the book. Perhaps she intended to draw the reader in with this technique, or perhaps it is a common grammatical choice in Korean, but I found it difficult to connect to the characters.
LINK to my review
Death, Taxes, and Hot-Pink Leg Warmers – Diane Kelly – 2.5**
This is book five in the series featuring IRS Special Agent Tara Halloway. I like that Kelly has given us the premise of a strong female heroine, though she doesn’t always deliver. Still, it’s a fast read and mildly entertaining.
LINK to my review
I finished Where the Light Falls. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
While I don't agree that Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, I certainly enjoyed watching her awkward attempts to accept and be accepted.My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've finished Nothing to Envy Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. It was a very interesting, sometimes upsetting read.Later tonight I'm going to start reading Some Hope by Edward St Aubyn. It's the third in the Patrick Melrose novels.
I just finished Before We Were Yours which was fiction but based on the Tennessee Children's Home scandal of children being taken from their families illegally and basically being sold to the wealthy and influential until it was exposed in the 1950's. Really sad what they were doing by claiming they were giving children a better life.I've gone back to reading The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat and today I picked up from the library a copy of The Little French Bistro. I so enjoyed The Little Paris Bookshop that I'm really looking forward to this new one.
Farwell My Lovely – Raymond Chandler – 3***
I came late to Chandler’s series about P.I. Philip Marlowe, but I sure am enjoying them now! The action is non-stop, and the characters so vivid they virtually jump off the page. I’ll definitely keep reading the series.
LINK to my review
Karen M wrote: "I just finished Before We Were Yours which was fiction but based on the Tennessee Children's Home scandal of children being taken from their families illegally and basically being s..."Oh ... this sounds good. Adding it to my tbr....
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – Gabrielle Zavin – 3***
One snowy December evening A.J. Fikry finds that someone has left a baby between the shelves in his bookstore. This is a fable about second chances and the redemptive power of love. It’s a somewhat quiet story, as novels go, but it is full of the drama of every day existence. I also loved all the literary references.
LINK to my review
Book Concierge wrote: "
Farwell My Lovely
– Raymond Chandler – 3***
I came late to Chandler’s series about P.I. Philip Marlowe, but I sure am enjoying them now! The action is non..."
ooh I loved The Big Sleep! I've always meant to read the rest of the Marlowe books.
Farwell My Lovely
– Raymond Chandler – 3***
I came late to Chandler’s series about P.I. Philip Marlowe, but I sure am enjoying them now! The action is non..."
ooh I loved The Big Sleep! I've always meant to read the rest of the Marlowe books.
Book Concierge wrote: "Karen M wrote: "I just finished Before We Were Yours which was fiction but based on the Tennessee Children's Home scandal of children being taken from their families illegally and b..."I've only given two books five stars so far this year and this was the second one! I hope you enjoy it.
One for fans of Charles Dickens. I reckon he'd have been an activist blogger if he'd been around today. My review of Select Short Fiction 
4★ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just read this chicklitty mystery. The Golden Hour by T. Greenwood.
3★ My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book Concierge wrote: " The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
– Gabrielle Zavin – 3***
One snowy December evening A.J. Fikry finds that someone has left a baby between the..."
I so enjoyed The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, so I'm glad that you did too!
I also noticed that you are listening to a Jasper Fforde book. I had a used book store owner recommend one of his books in the Thursday Next series and never looked back. I love that they are so quirky. I've read six of the eight Next series. I've also read the first in the Nursery Crime series but didn't enjoy it quite as much.
At the moment, I just finished Fatal Remedies
by Donna Leon and as usual enjoyed it. I just was a little disappointed by his wife's actions in this book. I can't put together that she would do something like this that ultimately doesn't and wouldn't change anything.
Formidable 'Nubian Queen, Thug Mama' Liza Jessie Peterson writes a powerful account: All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island
5★ A MUST-READ!
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Love and Other Consolation Prizes. 4 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Pamela wrote: "I also noticed that you are listening to a Jasper Fforde book. I had a used book store owner recommend one of his books in the Thursday Next series and never looked back. I love that they are so quirky. I've read six of the eight Next series. I've also read the first in the Nursery Crime series but didn't enjoy it quite as much.I love the Thursday Next series for all the literary references. The more you've read, the more you pick up, but I think even people who don't get all of them will still enjoy the books ... quirky and fun reads. Of course if you HAVE read some of the classics, the scene in book 3 (I think) where Miss Havisham (Great Expectations) is reading the riot act to Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) is just priceless!
I haven't tried Fforde's Nursery Crime series. But I did read Shades of Grey, as well as The Last Dragonslayer and The Song of the Quarkbeast. He's definitely got one wild imagination!
We Are Called to Rise – Laura McBride – 4****
McBride’s debut novel tells the story of four different people whose lives intersect as the result of one split-second choice. The novel is told by each of these four characters in turn. I was immediately drawn into their personal stories. McBride does a great job of writing these characters, making them real to the reader. I thought the ending was a little too contrived, but that was really my only complaint. I look forward to reading her next book.
LINK to my review
Book Concierge wrote: "Pamela wrote: "I also noticed that you are listening to a Jasper Fforde book. I had a used book store owner recommend one of his books in the Thursday Next series and never looked back. I love that..."I can't remember which book that was in but it was indeed a wonderful bit of reading. Now I want another of Fforde's books to read! But since I don't have one, and ahem, the stash of books under the loveseat has been growing, I will settle back with Deadly Decisions
by Kathy Reichs.
Really enjoyed News of the World by Paulette Jiles. Post-Civil War US. 4.5★
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm in the middle of The Chemist by Stephanie Meyer.
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller – 3***
I definitely see why this is on its way to becoming a classic. Heller’s story of one unit fighting in Italy during WW2, could easily be updated to today and still ring true in many respects. It’s funny, irreverent, and disturbing. Still, satire is not my favorite genre. I appreciate it, but don’t necessarily like it.
LINK to my review
Karen, thanks for the book recommendation the other day. I've added it to my tbr list :). Today I'm going to start reading The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin.
Just read Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips, which possibly aspires to be Hunger Games in the Zoo.
My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Perks Of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky – 4****
This is a coming-of-age novel featuring 15-year-old Charlie, who tells the story via letters he writes to an unnamed friend. I like YA fiction like this. Charlie is very real. He is a great observer of teenage and family life. As he describes events and how he reacts to them, he gives the reader a pretty accurate view of high-school dynamics. This is Chbosky’s debut novel. I hope he writes another novel; I would definitely read it.
LINK to my review
June 24 - Currently ReadingTEXT –
The Lowland / Jhumpa LahiriAUDIO in the car –
The Japanese Lover / Isabel AllendeMP3 Player AUDIO -
Eragon / Christopher Paolini
Knots And Crosses – Ian Rankin – 3***
This is the first in the Inspector John Rebus mystery series. Edinburgh is plagued by a series of kidnapping/killings of young girls. Rankin writes a fast-paced thriller with several twists and turns in the plot, and a complex lead character. I definitely read more of this series.
LINK to my review
Aussie Catherine McKinnon's new book, Storyland is an inventive fictional history of the Illawarra coast of NSW in linked short stories from the 1700s to far in the future, very far - the 2700s!
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gunshot Road by Aussie Adrian Hyland is written by a man who knows the Territory and its people. Emily Tempest is an Aboriginal Community Police Officer extraordinaire. Lots of action, humour, mystery, Indigenous lore. Loved it! 4.5★
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've just started reading Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother, which is Sue Johnston's autobiography.
Cops And Robbers – Daniel E Westlake – 3.5***
Tom and Joe are New York City policemen. They are also planning a grand heist that should net them two million dollars. This book doesn’t include the kind of zany antics that Westlake is known for in his comic crime capers, but there’s plenty of action, quite a few surprises and plot twists, and a great sense of time and place.
LINK to my review
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The Next Best Book Club
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But DeMille's book has been sitting there waiting for quite a while and it part of a one-word challenge (River) I'm supposed to be working through.