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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
Read and reviewed A Fair Maiden by Joyce Carol Oates - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3407365043.Updating my progress on 2020 challenge in another group - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/21032279-pam-s-2020-reading-challenge
Finished this blend of historical fiction, science, and religious persecution in czarist Russia:A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum - 4 stars - My Review
I read The Good People by Hannah Kent. Set in Ireland in the 1820s, it's a story about a young boy suspected of being a changeling and the efforts to "cure" him. Based on a true story. Irish folklore, superstitions, rituals, etc. are woven into the fabric of the lives of the villagers. Kent is a very talented writer, skilled at generating atmosphere and cultural climate. I thought this was as good as her first novel, Burial Rites.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I loved everything from the story to the characters to the cover 
The Sunset Sisters by Cecilia Lyra. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
My review of Alexis ou le Traité du vain combat / Le Coup de grâce by Marguerite Yourcenarhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Entertaining book about the rise and fall of a fictional 70's rock band:Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 4 stars - My Review
Read a couple of books - the first in a series by S J Parris - Heresy - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3410726027and a large coffee table type book, Barbie: Her Life & Times by Billy Boy - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3396612488.
I just read War Storm (book #4 of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard) and it was great. I still have to read Broken Throne but i know I'm gonna love it.I also just finished Tomie by Junji Ito. Now this was totally awesome. It's a horror Manga but it's more creepy than scary. And so addicting
I was very much looking forward to
The Constant Rabbit and it didn't disappoint - 5 stars.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished this remarkable book. It is a story of human (and animal) connections in uncertain times, how people can deceive themselves, and how we maintain our illusions rather than confronting the truth. It is a social commentary on the increasing artificiality of our world. I think it is particularly pertinent to our present time. The Cave by José Saramago - 5 stars - My Review
I had a bit of difficulty putting my thoughts into a review but despite my hesitancy concerning the magical realism I enjoyed The Water Dancer
- 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi by Richard Granthttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
Pity it doesn't seem to have been translated into English; I've liked all three of them
I've finished some really good ones! Two about Ireland and a classic, must-read short story.Amongst Women by John McGahern
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...]
There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and
Dubliners by James Joyce
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Part literary mystery and coming of age, this book shows the differing responses to tragedy, testing even the strongest of convictions. Krueger tells the story in the form of a crime mystery. I found it difficult to put down. The characters are believable, and the writing is strong. Though it contains darkness and tragedy, there are moments of grace that help people move forward in the face of sorrow. Though it could have been depressing due to the sad content, it ends on a hopeful note. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger - 4 stars - My Full Review
My review of Miss Julia Inherits a Mess by Ann B. Ross
3 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Aretha Franklin was certainly the voice of a generation (or two or three) and the first woman in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! This is Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara's addition to the Little People BIG DREAMS series. 
4.5★ Link to my "Aretha" review with illustrations.
Richard Russo wrote the short story Sh*tshow about three couples, old friends, discovering they don't agree as much as they thought they did after the Trump election. Interesting.
4★ Link to my Russo review
My review of The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John R. Boltonhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Dual timeline story of a father and son, one set in the early 2000’s and the other in 1944/1945:Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow - 3 stars - My Review
I just finished an entertaining, light, fun murder mystery set in Vancouver, BC in 1899: The Silk Train Murder.I found this a fun read. John Granville arrives in Vancouver and meets up with a friend he worked with in the Yukon. The friend is then accused of murder. How is a friend, new to town and with no connections, going to be able to prove that the accused didn't commit murder? There are many twists & turns throughout and many threads.
A light, entertaining read. I will continue with the series. There's good character development in this book that I think bodes well for the coming books. And it's always fun when the setting of a book is one's home.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcón. A powerful depiction of the horrors and injustice of living under a tyrannical government. The setting is an unnamed country in South America. But it could be any time, anywhere.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished volume 2 of a Clark Ashton Smith collection Out Of Space And Time: Volume 2 - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3384352779.
My review of The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths. This is an excellent series!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A British author travels to Athens to teach a week-long writing workshop:Outline by Rachel Cusk - 3 stars - My Review
A Dream Called Home by Reyna Grande, which I just reviewed on my profile page.
I read an amazing novella--part fable, part fairy tale, part myth, and part magical realism. It is The Blue Fox by Sjón. Translated from the Icelandic. It won the 2005 Nordic Council Literature Prize. The language is sheer poetry.My 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Secret Life of Shirley Sullivan by Lisa Ireland
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Light and fun historical fiction about time traveling back to the days of Hank Williams:Carry Me Back by Laura Watt - 4 stars - My Review
I have finished 2 more Netgalley books this week - both good solid 4 star reads.
I Know You Lied by Lesley Sandersonhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and
my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
And
To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillanhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
A new series that I think kids would enjoy as well. (Who doesn't love a dog?) The Finders-(Mace Reid K-9 Mystery, #1) by Jeffrey B. Burton is about a special dog (and her owner, of course, plus a potential love interest).
3★ Link to my Finders review
I happened to find The Fire Next Time a novella/essay written in 1963 by James Baldwin, an author I read in my youth. Nearly 60 years ago, he explained that Black Lives Matter. Will we ever get the message?
5★ Link to my Fire Next Time review
Finished a read about domestic violence and crime
The Stepdaughter by Debbie Howellshttps://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
All About Books
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Pines by Blake Crouch - completed 6/22/20 - 4 stars - My Review