Reading Plans? Tell us what's upcoming on your list.

[Kristine]

Two more Flannery O'Connor short stories to go (my goodness, having read four so far, I am not yet sure what I think), and then comes Simon the Fiddler/Paulette Jiles followed by The Revisioners/Margaret Wilkerson Sexton.

[Sandra]

I finished The Legacy of the Bones book #2 in the Baztán trilogy, and started today a non fiction book, Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird

[Janice]

I finished Serena and was underwhelmed. It's a sad commentary to say that there are people like that out in the world.

[Karen]

Just finished Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things and Rachel Field's Newbery winner Hitty, Her First Hundred Years among others.

About to start two classics, Charles Finger's Newbery winner Tales from Silver Lands and Alice Walker's You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories. Also starting a startlingly contemproary YA book, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. I'm also trying to listen to The Scent Keeper by Erica Baumeister - I loved her School of Essential Ingredients - but I'm having a really hard time with the reader's voice - not sure I'll continue it.

I recently also listened to Dracula read by Alan Cumming and Tim Curry et al and it was fantastic. I had no idea Dracula was written in epistolary form. It was a good seasonal listen.

[Colleen]

Janice wrote: "I finished Serena and was underwhelmed. It's a sad commentary to say that there are people like that out in the world."

I felt sorry for all the trees as well! The environment is not ours to destroy. Serena was a somewhat despicable character.

[Colleen]

Karen wrote: "Just finished Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things and Rachel Field's Newbery winner Hitty, Her First Hundred Years among others.

About t..."

Furiously Happy, etc. were pretty big when they came out. I wonder what she's been working on lately. I listened on audio - probably would've found it funnier had I read it in my "own" voice.

I've heard many good things about Dracula - and didn't know it was epistolary style - I bet that just adds more to the tale and how it's told. Definitely on my list for next autumn (or earlier!), as is Frankenstein, these classics are just calling to me to read.

[Colleen]

Just finished The Rent Collector, which was a nice story. Not overly impressed with the writing, but liked the importance placed on reading/novels/literature, and some parts were a little deep to ponder. My RL book club is meeting on this Thursday, so of course I'll probably like and appreciate the book more. That's just the way it goes for me in book discussions.

Next up to read is The Burgess Boys. I've sped up the audio to 1.25 on UtD....so many weeks it's taking! But it is like 4 books in one as far as the length goes. Next audio will be Wintering. I hope to get to start it soon! Book club coming up on this one too!

[Karen]

Furiously Happy is an important book and kudos to her for putting herself out there in both book and blog form to bring mental illness to the forefront. I'm glad I read it but it was just entirely too over the top silly/manic for me sometimes. I can't even imagine her reading it - that probably would have put me completely over the edge!

[Angela M]

I read Black Futures . An amazing collection of multiple narrative forms - photos , essays , paintings, conversations, essays and more. 5 stars for me.

Tonight I’ll start listening to the audio of A Promised Land.

[Linda]

Starting Masticar una rosa ("chewing on a rose"), by Angela Hernandez for my f2f next weekend. Short stories, thank goodness it's short! Only 1/2 story so far...thematically, possibilities. But the style is too stilted, wordy, overdone

[Colleen]

Karen wrote: "Furiously Happy is an important book and kudos to her for putting herself out there in both book and blog form to bring mental illness to the forefront. I'm glad I read it but it was just entirely ..."

LOL - I'm glad you can see both sides of it Karen, and agree, the more we acknowledge mental illness and learn about it, the more better off we all an be. It can be a part of being human after all.

[Colleen]

Finally finished Under the Dome. Whew! I'll now start listening to Wintering which is a #2 - I'm assuming this does not need to be read in order - but still, I hate that since I haven't read #1 (or any books by this author before), probably part of my OCD about books. :)

It's for my local library's f2f book club pick in December (virtual remote meetings for who knows how long....).

[Colleen]

Angela M wrote: "I read Black Futures. An amazing collection of multiple narrative forms - photos , essays , paintings, conversations, essays and more. 5 stars for ..."

Very timely Angela! I see it got a high 4.47 rating on GR.

Do you read a print and listen to an audio at the same time?

[Colleen]

Linda Abhors the New GR Design wrote: "Starting Masticar una rosa ("chewing on a rose"), by Angela Hernandez for my f2f next weekend. Short stories, thank goodness it's short! Only 1/2 story so far...thematically, possibilities. But the..."

LAtNGRD - I find I can only do short stories 1 at a time in a book. I'll read one then go to my novel and back to a story until I finish the whole thing - and really will only do it for a f2f book club group. Do you read a short story collection straight through like a novel?

[Jennifer]

Listening to On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System now, which is fascinating, and then I have Cry Havoc: Charlottesville and American Democracy Under Siege which I need for a monthly challenge and then after that Bleeding Tarts, again to finish a challenge. Then I have the rest of the month to read "unplanned" books - wherever whim leads me.

[Karen]

I just finished the YA book, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. It was really good. A novel in free verse. She reads it on audio too and I'm sure it would be a fabulous listen. I'm almost sorry I read it instead of listened to it. Great quick read. I read the Newbery winner, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander a couple of years ago - same format - a novel in free verse - and it was fabulous too. And again, neither of them are a genre I would normally think to pick up and read. Just goes to show you...

[Sandra]

I started Rebecca. Not too long ago I read and completely loved My Cousin Rachel so my expectations are high. So far so good.

[Evelyn]

Ann wrote: "I'm reading The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre.

It will be mostly nonfiction this month since I'm participating in Book Tube's and Goodread's Nonfiction November. I plan to read The Spirit Catc..."

Did you enjoy The Bishop's Man? I read it long ago and it is one of those books that has stuck with me.

[stephanie]

Really trying to finish up a few I have already started ( We Were the Lucky Ones and Sand Castle Bay ) and without planning to I just got talked into borrowing Daisy Jones & The Six I don't think I'll be disappointed as I haven't heard a bad review yet. Anyone?

[Sandra]

I liked Daisy Jones & The Six, Stephanie. The format is interesting and I kept forgetting it wasn't a non fiction book.

[Evelyn]

I loved Daisy Jones and the Six!

[Colleen]

Sandra wrote: "I started Rebecca. Not too long ago I read and completely loved My Cousin Rachel so my expectations are high. So far so good."

I read Rebecca before but just watched the newest movie remake - beautifully done. I just started My Cousin Rachel - it's premise is familiar, I'm going to be on edge. I hope Du Maurier keeps the surprises coming.

A Reliable Wife was awful!

[Colleen]

Stefanie wrote: "Really trying to finish up a few I have already started ( We Were the Lucky Ones and Sand Castle Bay ) and without planning to I just got talked into borrowing [book..."

My RL book club is reading Daisy Jones in January. I'm excited to read it!

@Sandra - can you tell me about the format? And I've heard that before - it almost reads like non-fiction.

[Sandra]

Colleen, It is written like a band documentary, with interspersed interviews to the members of the band, managers, friends, reporters, etc. All these people are supposed to be interviewed in the present time, and they tell the story of how the band came to exist and then fell apart in the 70s. There are also songs. It is super well accomplished. There is not a narrator, all you know is from the protagonists' own voices. The feeling of the 70s is also super strong (not that I was alive then, but what I recognize as the 70s :D ). You really forget that it is all fiction and Daisy Jones & The Six never existed. Truly forget.
I read the hardcover but I've heard that the audiobook version is fantastic too.

[Victoria (RedsCat)]

I also loved Daisy Jones & the Six! It will definitely make you want to get your Fleetwood Mac records out :)

[Janice]

Somehow, I haven't made it back to the group in a couple of weeks. I realized that I haven't been enjoying my books since Covid hit. The last 5 star read I had was back in May. So I pretty much dumped my challenge reads and picked up some urban fantasy. I ended up giving Sweep of the Blade 5 stars. It wasn't that it was great literature, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just finished Lover Avenged and will be starting Night Broken today. I also have Mexican Gothic on the go.

[Parker]

I've been reading a lot of current events non-fiction. Biographies of Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Maxine Waters, and Elizabeth Warren (I have bios of John Lewis and Ilhan Omar next on my list), Too Much and Never Enough, by Mary Trump (excellent book - I highly recommend it).

I decided that I needed escapist literature, so I've been reading cozy mysteries by Amanda Lee and Laurie Cass.

I've just started Hollowpox, by Jessica Townsend (the third book in the Morrigan Crow series). I'm really enjoying it so far.

[Colleen]

Janice wrote: "Somehow, I haven't made it back to the group in a couple of weeks. I realized that I haven't been enjoying my books since Covid hit. The last 5 star read I had was back in May. So I pretty much dum..."

Same Janice - I hit an audio slump after finally finishing Under the Dome. I needed a minute of recovery, but happy to say I started listening to my new one Wintering while catching some steps in the dark outside.

Can't wait for you to start Mexican Gothic so you can tell me how it is!

[Colleen]

Parker wrote: "I've been reading a lot of current events non-fiction. Biographies of Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Maxine Waters, and Elizabeth Warren (I have bios of John Lewis and Ilhan Omar next on m..."

I love to mix up my genres when I feel I've had enough! Keeps the books straight in my head also which is nice - I don't want everything to just blend together.

[stephanie]

After some time waiting and staying away from the library I have had some holds come through so have a few from the library I get to enjoy..... The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women a new release :) The Noel Letters and a little different ..... The One and Only Bob

[Sandra]

I finished Rebecca yesterday, and gave it 5 stars. I plan to watch the new movie now.

I'm starting today Offering to the Storm, last book in the Baztán Trilogy.

[Colleen]

Stefanie wrote: "After some time waiting and staying away from the library I have had some holds come through so have a few from the library I get to enjoy..... [book:The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's S..."

Enjoy Radium Girls! A lot of characters, but nothing to have to keep straight, I just let the history lesson flow. It's not the most light-hearted/uplifting story, but you'll meet some amazing women (and men) during this not-so-distant time. We've come a long way, but how much further do we need to go?

[Colleen]

Sandra wrote: "I finished Rebecca yesterday, and gave it 5 stars. I plan to watch the new movie now.

I'm starting today Offering to the Storm, last book in the Baztán Trilogy."

Let me know what you think of Rebecca!

[Colleen]

I started Wintering on audio - not too sure yet, and afraid I am not listening to the timelines. I have a bit to go yet before I can make any decisions, but this may be a book best read.

Also reading The Persistence of Memory - a little easier going, but again, not really a hit (yet). Although I am learning some new foreign (to me) words.

[Janice]

I'm currently reading Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl Through the Holocaust for my real life book club. It's rather boring which is interesting because it has a rather high rating. The author is painting a picture of what normal life was like before the holocaust hit. It's not grabbing my attention.

The audiobook I'm listening to is the final book in the Rain Wilds Chronicles, Blood of Dragons. My grandson is excited that I'm reading it because he says the next series in the world is awesome and he can't wait to discuss it with me. It's great that we have the same taste in books because we never run out of things to talk about.

[Linda]

Just finished Gaiman's Anansi Boys. Have to read Aramburu's "Vigilante del fiordo" before Saturday (as well as do exams and grades). Then, before the 31st, García Moreno's "The Untamed Shore".

[Karen]

I just finished American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, a riveting, claustrophobic, powerful, heartbreaking book which was definitely NOT a holiday read! For the remainder of the holiday season I will be doing some light reading, knocking a few off the Newbery list and finishing up Becoming by Michelle Obama and New York by Edward Rutherfurd which I own and started earlier this year but got put aside for books with due dates from the library! Some less gripping reads!

[Janice]

I had been reading Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl Through the Holocaust. I can't read such disturbing books right now. Even though it's a real life book club selection, I'm turfing it. Instead, nothing but light and fluffy till the end of Dec. I'm reading Hurricane Force and Lover Mine.

[Martha]

Finished The Visitation which was interesting. I liked it better than the other one of his that I read a few years ago. Was going to read Library of Souls, but I've lost it.
Current reads are Still Life With Crows ... excellent!
Healing a Parent's Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas After Your Child Dies ... has some wonderful ideas for dealing with grief from the loss of a child &
The 39 Steps ... I've seen the movie numerous times. Thought it was time to read the book.

[Colleen]

@Janice - so cute with your grandson! Love that.

@Karen - totally agree about American Dirt. I read it this summer - at least it was better weather, but not a light-hearted read. Sounds like Janice is feeling the same way!

@Martha - I'm hoping to never have to read a practical book about child loss, but glad it has wonderful ideas. I read The 39 Steps before - I bet the movie is really good - I wonder if it's better.

[Colleen]

For a light-hearted read, my Lakeville library chose Evvie Drake Starts Over as the January pick. I need it right now, and hopefully is well done.

Once I finish my current audio (hopefully tonight yet) Wintering I'll be starting Daisy Jones & The Six.

[Sandra]

I finished Gone with the Wind, which was a fantastic 5 stars read.

I've been struggling to decide what to read next. I think I'm going to reread Chronicle of a Death Foretold

[Martha]

Colleen wrote: "@Janice - so cute with your grandson! Love that.

@Karen - totally agree about American Dirt. I read it this summer - at least it was better weather, but not a light-hearted read. Sounds like Janic..."

I hope & pray you never have need of it, Colleen. It would be a good book to give to someone who has lost a child.
The 39 Steps is as thrilling as the movie. Non-stop so far.

[stephanie]

I have so much here at home I really need to tackle.... I made great progress these last couple months of 2020 and read almost 20 from MY shelves. Starting off the year finishing some short series Nora Roberts In the Garden series, a few from Dean Koontz and also trying out Stuart Woods Stone Barrington series for my first time.

[Libby]

I read The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett at the beginning of the month, a great historical fiction novel, then Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump and I'm currently reading A Death in the Family by James Agee. I didn't know anything about James Agee before starting this book, but the writing is so engaging and unique that I expect I will be reading more about him and his work in the near future.

[Sandra]

I started yesterday Great Expectations. I'm trying to have a classic on the go all the time.

I also started Blood Lure. I got it from a book exchange among the member of my book club. I wasn't planning to reading right away, but it sounds good, and lots of nature is what I need now that we are inside.

[Linda]

Just started Silvia García Moreno's "Untamed Shore". A gothic tale, it seems, but in a sunny, warm place. Halfway through, the murder has just occurred, and it seems it won't be a murder mystery, but rather a....? Dunno.
She writes well, but the editor rushed the job on this one (misspellings, missing verbs, etc). And think I might be too old to be fully engaged with the protagonists of her novels.

[Martha]

Sandra wrote: "I started yesterday Great Expectations. I'm trying to have a classic on the go all the time.

I also started Blood Lure. I got it from a book exchange among the member of m..."

I hope you enjoy Blood Lure, Sandra. This is one of my favorite series. Anna always manages to get herself in a big mess before it's over. LOL

[Martha]

I've just finished The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite & Moneyball. Both were good. I don't read many graphic novels or sports books, but both of these were enjoyable.

Hope to finish these by the end of the month -
Brimstone - great so far as these always are
Archie Meets Nero Wolfe: A Prequel to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Mysteries & I, the Jury
I always read more mysteries than anything else & this year will end as they usually do.

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it & Happy Holidays to those who celebrate other holidays. May you have a joyous & blessed time. Hopefully, 2021 will hold better times for us all.

[Angela M]

I read a beautiful short Christmas story that did my heart good . Christmas Day in the Morning: Awakening the Joy of Christmas .

I’m currently reading The Night Portrait: A Novel of World War II and da Vinci's Italy , so far a fabulous work of historical fiction.