The Next Best Book Club discussion
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Book Related Banter
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What Are You Reading - Part Deux
Did you ever read a book that does interest you and yet you seem to prefer doing anything but read it? I'm reading The Last Wild Men of Borneo: A True Story of Death and Treasure and definitely struggling.
I just started A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. People tell me they enjoyed this book. Has anyone read his earlier book, Rules of Civility?
Barbara wrote: "I just started A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. People tell me they enjoyed this book. Has anyone read his earlier book, Rules of Civility?"I haven’t read the earlier book, but I LOVED the Gentleman!
I enjoyed Mick Herron’s third book in the Slough House series, Real Tigers. More fun and games (and rough and tumble) with the demoted spies, the Slow Horses.
4★ My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for your comment, Patt I think I'm going to like it too. I'm only a few pages in and already hooked.
Barbara—I read “Rules of Civility” years ago, and it was just as good as “A Gentleman in Moscow.” Towles is truly a gifted writer.
Thanks for your comment about "Rules of Civility." It appears to be set in 1930s Manhattan--an interesting time and another reason to read it.
Another favourite, acclaimed Aussie author Helen Garner. Anecdotes, diary entries, essays make up Everywhere I Look. These things are everywhere I look, too, but she says it so well that I had to include plenty of quotes didn't I? :)
5★ Link to my review/a>
I read The Great Believers. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Barbara wrote: "I just started A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. People tell me they enjoyed this book. Has anyone read his earlier book, Rules of Civility?"I have Towles' debut novel 4 stars.
You can see My review HERE.
Lockdown – Laurie R King – 4****
King is probably best known for her Mary Russell series, but this is a stand-alone psychological thriller. The novel focuses on an incident at Guadalupe Middle School in San Felipe, California, and follows the characters from shortly after midnight to about 1:30 in the afternoon. I thought a couple of the elements of the plot’s ending were just too conveniently pat, but I was still entertained throughout.
LINK to my review
Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures – Emma Straub – 3***
I wasn’t expecting great literature, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a rags-to-riches, poor-girl-marries-powerful-executive, money-can’t-buy-happiness story that would have easily been produced by the studio-system of Hollywood in the 1930s and ‘40s. The book is light on character development, but it’s a quick read, and although I found the plot somewhat predictable, I was content to go along for the ride.
LINK to my review
Un-bloody-believable! SO good! Tara Westover’s personal story, Educated: A Memoir is terrific. 
5★ My review has lots of (non-spoiler) quotes. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Currently reading, effective March 12TEXT -
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World by Tim MarshallAUDIO in the car -
Beartown by Fredrik BackmanMP3 audio -
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson – 4****
At once a courtroom drama, a love story, a war story and a coming-of-age story, Guterson’s debut novel is a marvelous work depicting one man’s struggle against his baser instincts. A murder trial serves as the framework for exploring the complex relationships between Kabuo, Natsue and Ishmael.
LINK to my review
Plaid and Plagiarism – Molly MacRae – 3***
Four women take possession of their new bookshop, Yon Bonnie Books, in the Highlands of Scotland. Before Janet can move into her new house, however, they find a body in the garden shed. I like these characters. Add some colorful local citizens, a constable who’s never had a murder case before, and lots of references to books and you have a recipe for an enjoyable cozy mystery.
LINK to my review
The Christmas Shoes – Donna VanLiere – 1.5*
Trite and maudlin Christmas story that capitalizes on the popularity of the song. There are better Christmas stories with meaningful messages out there.
LINK to my review
Last book was about WWII so what do I read next? The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay which begins just prior to WWII.
My Name is Red – Orhan Pamuk – 3***
Set in 16th-century Instanbul, this is a murder mystery, an art history lesson, and a love story all in one. I found it difficult to follow because of Pamuk’s unusual style. Each chapter has a different narrator. When he focuses on the murder and the investigation, the story is quite compelling. However, Pamuk also includes long passages on art, the history of Turkey, and the teachings of Islam. I found these interesting, but felt they interrupted the story arc and sometimes had me scratching my head wondering what I had just missed.
LINK to my review
After hearing so many International Women's Day references to Mary Wollstonecraft, I decided I should find and read A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. She sure was a firebrand!
. 4★https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
No wonder it's already a bestseller! Loved The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. 
5★ Link to my review
Hi there,I'm reading Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. different from what I usually read, enjoying it so far.
From Sand and Ash has me completely tied up this weekend!
Night At the Fiestas – Kristin Valdez Quade – 4****
It’s difficult to rate a collection, because some of the stories resonate more with me than others. Quade gives us ten beautifully written stories in this collection. Ever since I studied O Henry and Edgar Allan Poe in junior high, I have loved short stories. With this collection, Kristin Valdez Quade is added to my list of authors who have perfected this format.
LINK to my review
A short, free book I enjoyed is Aussie foreign correspondent, the late Mark Colvin's history of his interesting family, Fighting Blood: An Exotic Family History. 
5★ Link to my reviewI included the link to the Melbourne University Press offer.
March: Book Two – John Lewis – 4****
This is the second in a trilogy of graphic memoirs detailing the Civil Rights Movement and early career of U.S. Representative John Lewis. I applaud Lewis and his collaborators for bringing this era in America’s history to the attention of young readers. Providing this information in this format makes it more accessible to a young audience, and it’s important that they learn about this episode in our nation’s history.
LINK to my review
Went back to 1995 to start at the beginning of Harlan Coben‘s popular Myron Bolitar mysteries with Deal Breaker. 
3.5>4★ My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi – 4****
A sweeping historical fiction that follows the descendants of two half-sisters over three hundred years. Trying to cover 300 years of history, on two continents, is an ambitious undertaking. Doing it in just over 300 pages is just about impossible. But Gyasi does a credible job. Each chapter focuses on a different character, moving the action forward generation by generation. This debut shows that Gyasi is an author to watch.
LINK to my review
I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. 4.5 stars rounded up. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
You need to read Swan Song by the same author Robert McCammon. Fantastic book!!!
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – Barbara Kingsolver, Steven L Hopp, Camille Kingsolver – 3.5***
Memoir of a year during which Kingsolver’s family vowed to eat only what they grew or could find locally available. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did, though Hopp’s essays, in particular, left me feeling that I was being scolded. I was happy that Kingsolver included some very humorous vignettes (the stories of “turkey sex” and her 9-year-old’s entrepreneurship was particularly engaging).
LINK to my review
Aminatta Forna's new book Happiness has urban foxes, war zones, London migrants and psychiatry. Life and death. All that.
4★ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished In The Shadow of 10,000 Hills. 5 Stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished I Was Anastasia. 3.5 stars . My review with spoiler tags: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Prisoners of Geography – Tim Marshall – 4****
I’ve always been relatively good at geography, and yet I wouldn’t say I’m particularly interested in or fascinated by the subject. Until now. I was pleasantly surprised at how very readable and understandable Marshall’s work is. I quickly became engaged in the way he outlined the benefits and challenges of various geographical features.
LINK to my review
Twins differ - boys pee standing up! Poco and Moco Are Twins by Jun Ichihara is a good conversation-starter for little kids.
4.5★ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith – 4****
Galbraith is the pseudonym of J K Rowling, and this book proves that she knows how to craft a compelling story. I really liked Strike as a lead character, but I really loved his assistant, Robin. These two make a great team. The plot is suitably complex, with plenty of red herrings to confuse and misdirect both Strike and the reader. I’ll definitely continue with this series.
LINK to my review
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The Next Best Book Club
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The Shack – William P Young – ZERO stars
Several people have recommended this to me, but it’s really not my cup of tea. I found the message heavy-handed and the writing simplistic.
LINK to my review
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MONDAY – 19 Feb 18
The Silver Linings Playbook – Matthew Quick – 4****
What a delightfully quirky and touching story. I never saw the movie, but knew it was very popular. I put the book on my tbr knowing basically nothing about it and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Pat is a wonderful character and narrator. Tiffany is so confused and hurt and hopeful, that she, too, just pulls me in.
LINK to my review