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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Chit Chat About Books
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What are you reading? - 2020
I finished The Book of Koli early this morning. What a unique story! Thank you for making me read it, Janice! ;o)I am so glad that I already put a hold on the second book at my library. There is a long list of readers ahead of me though. ;o(
As late as the 1960s, Australian Aboriginal children with white blood were forcibly removed from their black families, who were considered incapable of taking care of them. The White Girl is a fictional story about a grandmother and her very fair granddaughter, by Indigenous author Tony Birch. Thought-provoking (and infuriating).
3.5★ LInk to my White Girl review
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "As late as the 1960s, Australian Aboriginal children with white blood were forcibly removed from their black families, who were considered incapable of taking care of them. [book:The White Girl|450..."Oh interesting Patty. Everyone's been raving about this book all year. I'll go see what you found infuriating. It's always refreshing to hear a new opinion!
I finished Malorie. I'm really glad I listened to it although it didn't fascinate as much as the first book. I can't decide if I was a bit disappointed with the ending or not....This was read by Katherine Mangold who did just as good a job as on book 1.I also finished Opium and Absinthe. This one YA which is not my favourite genre but I was enticed by the blurb. I shouldn't have been. It wasn't for me although I can't fault the story it was aimed at a younger audience. The characters were flat and the plot predictable but as a teen, I would have enjoyed it. Pleasant narration by Baily Carr.
I'm currently reading and should finish today Into the Tall, Tall Grass
which is a middle grade/magical realism/contemporary book about friendship, family and there is a quest to save grandma - Easy, enjoyable read.
Nazi Wives: The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany
My review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3494729225
I'm not sure I'd be up to the challenge of visiting Matt Haig's imaginative The Midnight Library, but it certainly would be tempting!
4★ Link to my Midnight Library review
The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is the fictional memoir of a very old Guernsey bachelor (who always enjoyed the girls), written by G.B. Edwards. It covers both World Wars, the Depression, and the Nazi Occupation. It is unique and absolutely fascinating!
5★ Link to my review of Ebenezer Le Page
I finished The Dorito Effect for the toppler. It wasn't really what I expected it to be, but it was really interesting. It had lagged a bit towards the end and I was hoping for a better answer to the issues it explored, but it was still mostly an engaging read. I am starting Bird Box for the toppler and monthly theme. It seems like it will be a good Halloween-time read.
I'm also reading Shadow Sands for review.
As the Last I May Know is a short story by S.L. Huang that won the 2020 Hugo award for best short story. It's free online, and I added a link in my review.
3.5★ Link to my short story review
I am another enthusiastic fan of Graham Brack and his mystery series. Dishonour and Obey is the third outing with Master Mercurius, who investigates a murder for colourful English King Charles II. This is the way to learn history so you remember it!
4★ Link to my review of Dishonour and Obey
Igifu means hunger, and Scholastique Mukasonga's five stories show what a weapon it is.
5★ Link to my Igifu review
Just finished Thin Air: A Ghost Story
by Michelle PaverMy Review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3599014931
@PattyMacDotComma I just finished the Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It is a good book and definitely worth reading. It was a choice for my in-person book club.
Finished The Lost Man. A very enjoyable listen which gave a real taste of outback life. A cross between contemporary fiction and mystery. Stephen Shanahan did an excellent job on reading.Moving on to The Little Friend. I started this one before and was enjoying it but had to put aside for other things. I'm finding it very hard to get back into. I've had a run of books I liked very much and this one is a big change in style and pace. Maybe it's not the time for it .......
I finished Kin and enjoyed the atmosphere and story telling.Later today, I will start The Gifts of Imperfection. It's my real life book club selection that we'll be discussing first week of November.
I'm starting Holding Up the Universe tonight for the trivia challenge. After that, only one more book to go for that challenge!
Grainne wrote: "@PattyMacDotComma I just finished the Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It is a good book and definitely worth reading. It was a choice for my in-person book club."Oh, that would be a great choice for a book club,Grainne! I can see lots of different opinions about what works for everybody and what doesn't as well as imagining it what it would be like in your own case. Did you review it at all? It would be fun to hear what people thought.
Good Girl, Bad Girl by great Aussie crime-writer Michael Robotham just won him his second Golden Dagger Award. The second in the series, When She Was Good is very, very good, and the bad guys were absolutely horrid!
5★ Link to my review of "When She Was Good"
If you're from a rev-head family, you'll want this little book for the kids. Ayrton Senna has often been called the greatest racing driver ever. 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished I Will Never See the World Again: The Memoir of an Imprisoned Writer - superb essays...from prison. My thoughts: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Finally finished The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished The Searcher and was disappointed. I don't think it's as strong as Tana French's other books. Still, the writing was strong.Tomorrow, I will start Jane Eyre on audiobook.
@PattyMacDotComma it was very interesting. I haven’t reviewed it yet but I will soon. There were so many possibilities in this book. It was a fun to read. @Janice I hope you enjoy the Brene Brown book.
I didn't get past the first chapter in The Gifts of Imperfection and I was annoyed. I'm really tired of these self-help books that start off with the premise that your life is lacking something, and all you need to do is read this book and you'll be wholeheartedly happy. Or, maybe I'm just at an age when I know who I am and accept that person. So real life book club or not, I'm not reading this.Instead, I started that chunkster I've been putting off for so long - We, the Drowned.
Janice, I find that the older I get, the more I'm writing that I am not the target audience in my reviews of self-help books. I think most of them are targeted at young adults that are just starting out or just starting families and find "adulting" overwhelming. Most are written like they've figured out something new, but it's really just stuff most people figure out over time. I don't often find a lot of new information, though occasionally I find some creative or interesting stuff.
Good point, Kristie. Definitely, there is a target audience. The women in my book club are all around my age and they are all self-assured and strong women. I'm surprised that this is a selection brought forward. Oh well, maybe the discussion will be good. As usual, I will be the dissenting voice.
Janice wrote: "I finished The Searcher and was disappointed. I don't think it's as strong as Tana French's other books. Still, the writing was strong...I really liked The Searcher Janice, but maybe more than you did because I liked the audiobook narrator so much. I have not read as many of the author's other books, either, though.
I am currently reading the second book in the Bread Alone trilogy.I am just about half way through The Baker's Apprentice. The author has changed the format of the book in this second half. She is going back and forth between two of the main characters. We finally get some insight into what the male lead is going through, instead all from the female MC.
I am also listening to The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction
. Interesting of him to put his stories in publication order. Most are new to me, but some I have seen and read before. It is always great to listen to him narrate his own stuff. I was shocked to hear that he was 60 years old. I had no idea. He has been writing forever. Don't get mad at me. I know that 60 is not old, it is just that I did not think he was more than about mid-forties. And, yes, I am STILL reading The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories, China from the Bottom Up. I need to bite the bullet and finish this. I cannot do a DNF. I need it for my yearly challenge and I do not want to find something else to replace it.
Cherie, I'd have said he was 50.
Cherie wrote: "I really liked The Searcher Janice, but maybe more than you did because I liked the audiobook narrator so much.."I enjoyed the narrator as well. My only comment about his was that he didn't quite get the American accent. You could still hear the Irish lilt in it. But, I was able to overlook that and enjoy his performance.
Cherie wrote: "I am currently reading the second book in the Bread Alone trilogy.I am just about half way through The Baker's Apprentice. The author has changed the format of the book in this seco..."
Oh Cherie, I still haven’t started The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories, China from the Bottom Up! 🤣
Janice wrote: "I enjoyed the narrator as well. My only comment about his was that he didn't quite get the American accent. You could still hear the Irish lilt in it. But, I was able to overlook that and enjoy his performance..."Oh, I may have to re-listen. I did not even notice that he still had some Irish in Cal's voice. Yeah, Cal should have had a Chicago brogue. I know that some of the character's had more Irish in his voices for them, but it did not seem like much. I think I just admired the gravely timber he used when Cal was speaking. I had a hard time with his neighbor's name. I could not tell exactly what it was, at times. At least he could carry a tune. ;o)
Cherie wrote: " I had a hard time with his neighbor's name. I could not tell exactly what it was, at times. At least he could carry a tune. ;o).."Apparently, his name was Mart. I kept thinking it sounded like Mark.
I cringed when he was singing. LOL! He and Pierce Bronson could be in the running for the worst singing.
Countless readers have loved the thriller I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes, and I wish I were among them. I did read nearly 300 pages before I gave up, though.
Link to my review of I Am Pilgrim
Death of a River Guide was the absolutely stunning 1994 debut of the 2014 Booker-winning Aussie author Richard Flanagan, and I loved it. The wilds of Tasmania's Franklin River - terrifying and beautiful!
5★ Link to my review of Death of a River Guide
I read The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress for the toppler andnnow i'm bqck reading The Dark Forest for twisted trivia. I've alwo started Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race for november group theme read and twisted treivia.
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Death of a River Guide was the absolutely stunning 1994 debut of the 2014 Booker-winning Aussie author Richard Flanagan, and I loved it. The wilds of Tasmania's Franklin..."That's really good to know, Patty! Thanks
I'm reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the Trivia Challenge. I've had this on my tbr list for a long time and just never got around to reading it. So glad I finally got to it. What kind of mind comes up with this stuff? So out of whack and just slightly believably off kilter. There's something recognizable in each of the characters but just more so. I'm having a lot of fun reading it.
Janice wrote: "Cherie wrote: " I had a hard time with his neighbor's name. I could not tell exactly what it was, at times. At least he could carry a tune. ;o).."Apparently, his name was Mart. I kept thinking it..."
Yes, I thought his name was Mark, but then it sounded like Mart at times. LOL about the singing.
Roz wrote: "I'm reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the Trivia Challenge. I've had this on my tbr list for a long time and just never got around to reading it. So glad I finally got to i..."I am glad you are having fun with it, Roz. It (and the others in the series) are one of AmyK's favorite books of all time. We both laugh at times, because she will quote something from it when we are talking and then, she just sits there and waits for me to "get it". I eventually do, but it takes my little brain cells some time. Mostly, I just remember the towel.
I finished reading The Baker's Apprentice. I enjoyed the story in the second book more than the first. I think it was better because the author changed the format and POV in the second and third parts. My library is trying to locate a copy of the third book in the series for me. I am going to start Murdering the President: Alexander Graham Bell and the Race to Save James Garfield for my yearly challenge.
Roz wrote: "I'm reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the Trivia Challenge. I've had this on my tbr list for a long time and just never got around to reading it. So glad I finally got to i..."I really loved Hitchhiker's Guide. I keep meaning to go back and read the reat in the series.
Lilisa wrote: "Oh Cherie, I still haven’t started The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories, China from the Bottom Up! 🤣 ..."I finished it today!
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
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I just started Nine Elms, which is good so far.