What are you reading in 2021?

[PattyMacDotComma]

Ten-year-old Rae is home alone in Aussie author Emily Spurr's moving debut novel, A Million Things. Kids are canny creatures, and Rae is one I am sure will be remembered.
4★ Link to my review of A Million Things

[Book Concierge]

An Irish Country Village – Patrick Taylor – 4****
Book two in the popular Irish Country Doctor series, relating the trials and tribulations of young Dr. Barry Laverty as he begins his practice as a country GP in the mid-1960s in Ballybucklebo, a fictitious community in Northern Ireland full of eccentric and memorable residents. Taylor has a gift for making his character so alive they fairly jump off the page. I also love the descriptions he gives of the landscape; makes me feels that I’ve actually been to Northern Ireland. Will definitely keep reading this series.
My full review HERE

[Jaye]

Somewhere Towards the End
a memoir by Diana Athill

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

starting Winter Garden

[Book Concierge]

The Bookshop Of the Broken Hearted – Robert Hillman – 3.5***
In 1968 in rural Australia, Tom Hope runs his farm, milks his cows, tends his sheep and tries to find a new purpose in his life after his wife, Trudy, left him and took her son, Peter, with her. Then he meets Hannah Babel, a survivor of Auschwitz and some 15 years his senior, who hires him to build bookcases for her new bookshop. I really liked how Hillman drew these broken-hearted people, how he revealed their pain and their efforts to heal and move forward. Yet, I wasn’t sure I understood Hannah all that well.
My full review HERE

[PattyMacDotComma]

Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them is just what it says it is. Francine Prose is a highly regarded literary authority who knows her stuff, but isn't stuffy. She also knows how to poke fun at herself.
5★ Link to my review of Reading Like a Writer

[Joanne]

I am reading The Last Green Valley, half way through it is possibly a 5 star read

[Carolyn]

I really enjoyed this epic and engrossing saga Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, about a fictional female pilot who learnt to fly in the 1920s and her quest in 1949 to fly a great circle around the world from pole to pole. At over 600 pages it's a big read but well worth it.

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Carolyn]

I also enjoyed this lighter read, Yours Cheerfully by A.J. Pearce, the sequel to Dear Mrs. Bird, about a young journalist working for a women' magazine during WW2.

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kathryn]

Just finished The Yellow Wife. Now I'm reading Meridon, the last of 3 books in Philippa Gregory's Wideacre series.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Popular Aussie author Rachael Johns has written about a mother who is surprised to find herself pushed into Flying the Nest without her kids! Her fans will enjoy this one.
3.5★ Link to my review of Flying the Nest

[Alice]

I just finished The First Actress by C.W. Gortner. It was excellent. It is about the life of stage actress Sarah Berndhart. I know nothing about her and this book brought her career to life for me. I highly recommend.

[Christopher]

Currently midway through Sword of Kings, the penultimate book in Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, after which I plan to finish up with the 13th and final one in the series, War Lord. As always with Cornwell, I'm loving every moment!

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Reading Winter Garden and starting You Can Run But You Can't Hide

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Rise to Rebellion #1 in the two part historical fiction series about the American Revolution by Jeff Shaara. One of the best fictional accounts of the War that I've read.

Link to my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Donna]

I’m reading and loving Pallas and the Centaur, the second in Linda Proud’s excellent Botticelli trilogy.

[Alice]

I am reading an excellent book The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley. Book 7 in the series. Book goes between 1920 and 2008. You will travel to Switzerland, New Zealand, Tornoto, London and Ireland Excellent series, but start with book 1.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I loved Aussie author Tabitha Bird's imaginative debut novel, and I've just enjoyed her latest, The Emporium of Imagination. I'm pleased she weaves her magic in her hometown of Boonah, Qld, but I want this Emporium to open near me, please!
4★ Link to my Emporium of Imagination review

[Carolyn]

I loved Karen Brooks retelling of the Chaucer's classic tale from the wife's point of view:
The Good Wife of Bath: A (Mostly) True Story

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kathryn]

Currently reading Girl in a Blue Dress. It is based on the marriage of Charles Dickens. The writer, named Alfred Gibson in the novel, turns his wife away after she has borne eight children and he has fallen in love with someone else. It's told from the perspective of the wife upon Gibson's death, ten years after he repudiated her. I was really liking it until all of her kids, who had also turned their backs on her, suddenly show up after dad dies. That doesn't feel plausible.

[L.]

Just finished Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. What a great book!! A must read, definitely.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Finished You Can Run But You Can't Hideand starting Seven Up

[PattyMacDotComma]

I loved An Imaginary Life by acclaimed Aussie author David Malouf. What a strange and fascinating life he's dreamed up for the exiled Roman poet Ovid, banished forever to a remote village with primitive customs (and no common language).
5★ Link to my review of An Imaginary Life

[Carolyn]

Silence in the Library by Katharine Schellman is an enjoyable Regency cosy mystery, second in a series featuring young widow Lily Adler.

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kathryn]

Just started Eternal by Lisa Scottoline

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Where the Dead Lie #12 Sebastian St. Cyr historical mystery by C.S. Harris. Well written although dark and disturbing storyline set in 1813 London. Viscount St. Cyr investigates a series of murders of street children living in extreme poverty. Best to read this series in order to understand the relationships and political maneuverings. Rated 4 stars.

[Cheryl A]

It was nice to have a few days off work to catch up on my reading! Spent the first couple of days getting boring, but necessary, stuff like housework & laundry done then read, read, read! Finished out the Bingo Challenge with In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, The Last Days of Dogtown, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo and the final book on my mini-vacation, Mrs. Sherlock Holmes. Now, back to work and a book every few days (if I'm lucky!).

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Finished Seven Up and starting Hard Eight

[Bruce]

I finished reading by

[Ashley Marie]

Currently reading CW Gortner's Marlene and enjoying it very much.

[Alice]

Ashley Marie wrote: "Currently reading CW Gortner's Marlene and enjoying it very much."

I read it a couple of months ago and enjoyed it as well

[[deleted user]]

I'm currently reading The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham.

It's been an amazing read so far. I love the way that the author draws you in with great descriptive language and weaves the story from two time perspectives together. I highly recommend it!

The Secret Messenger

Mandy Robotham

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes. Historical Mythology. A fantastic, heartbreaking retelling of Homer's The Illiad (Trojan War) and The Odyssey told through the perspective of the Female Humans and Gods. Rated 5 stars and on my Favorite Shelf.

Link to my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PattyMacDotComma]

Getting Tyson is exactly what the good guys are trying so hard to do with such little luck in this UK thriller by P.K. Davies. Big Dave Tyson has zero redeeming features!
3★ Link to my review of Getting Tyson

[Book Concierge]

Finding Dorothy – Elizabeth Letts – 3.5***
Letts mines history to go “behind the scenes” on the making of the 1938 movie that launched Judy Garland’s star - The Wizard of Oz - and, more importantly, the story of how L Frank Baum came to write the series that captured the imaginations of millions of readers. I was engaged and interested from the beginning and felt that I learned much about both the making of the movie and about the people Maud and Frank Baum were.
My full review HERE

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Finished Hard Eight and starting The Diviners

[Donna]

I just finished Pallas and the Centaur by Linda Proud, the second in her Botticelli trilogy set in Renaissance Florence. This one focused on the roles women played during this time period and highlighted the struggles between the traditional culture of the Medieval world with the new thinking of the emerging Renaissance. The author is known for her impeccable research and for her focus on lesser known Renaissance figures. She brings out the great philosophical issues of the times but in a way that is very engaging and understandable. A five star read for me and I’ll definitely move on to the third installment, The Rebirth of Venus.

[Book Concierge]

The Accidental Tourist – Anne Tyler – 3.5***
Tyler excels at writing character-driven works that give us a glimpse of their lives in all their messy complexity and banal ordinariness. I love the scenes she creates that reveal so much of family dynamics; the Thanksgiving dinner is priceless, as is Rose’s wedding, and Christmas at Muriel’s mother’s house.
My full review HERE

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Smoke and Ashes #3 Sam Wyndham by Abir Mukherjee. This is an excellent, gritty historical mystery series set in 1920's India. Rated 5 stars.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Aussie journalist, reporter, and writer Rick Morton bared his family's soul in his memoir One Hundred Years of Dirt. His childhood in far outback Queensland sounds like something from a couple of hundred years ago.
4.5~5★ Link to my review of One Hundred Years of Dirt

[PattyMacDotComma]

Malala Yousafzai isa another inspiring Little People BIG DREAMS book from Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara. The Taliban tried to assassinate Malala, but she recovered and went on to become the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
4.5~5★ Link to my review of Malala Yousafzai with several illustrations

[Nicky]

I am jumping into the HF domain head-first. I have several books on my 2021 list.
Among them are some westerns. The Rider of Lost Creek, Riders of the Purple Sage, All the Pretty Horses and The Bounty Hunters are 4 of them, though I have many more in the western-category.

Then there's A Gentleman in Moscow, and Outlander and The Alice Network.

Until now, I have read Appaloosa which was absolutely great. I also really enjoyed The Quick and the Dead; I rated both 4*. In January, I also read The Ox-Bow Incident, which unfortunately took some time to pick up pace. I rated that one 3*.

[Jim]

Finished reading The Eagle's Claw: A Novel of the Battle of Midway

by Jeff Shaara

My Review

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Malala Yousafzai isa another inspiring Little People BIG DREAMS book from Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara. The Taliban tried to assassinate Malala, but she recovered a..."

Patty, So excited that our library has added some of this series to their e-book collection! Thanks for highlighting these books in this thread. Great reads for all ages :)

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Nikki wrote: "I am jumping into the HF domain head-first. I have several books on my 2021 list.
Among them are some westerns. The Rider of Lost Creek, Riders of the Purple Sage, [boo..."

Nikki; Since you listed Westerns in your post you might be interested in reading [book:Lonesome Dove|256008] by Larry McMurtry. One of my favorite historical fiction Westerns. It won the Pulitzer Prize in the 1980's. Violent and probably realistic narrative of the closing years of the Old West.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Mahatma Gandhi by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara. Rated 5 stars. Great biographical children series with wonderful illustrations.

[Nicky]

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Nikki wrote: "I am jumping into the HF domain head-first. I have several books on my 2021 list.
Among them are some westerns. The Rider of Lost Creek, [book:Riders of the Purple Sag..."

I do have that one shelved on GR, but I never added it to my 2021 list. I may just do that now!

[Donna]

I’m reading Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. So far, so good - young socialite is seeking to help her cousin in a creepy, isolated mansion in 1950s Mexico.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Finished The Diviners and going to start The Book of Two Ways

[PattyMacDotComma]

A road trip to track down an unknown father and perform at an international comedy festival. What could possibly go wrong? The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman by Julietta Henderson follows twelve-year-old Norman, his mother, and an old codger to the Edinburgh Fringe. Don't trust me - many readers just loved this one!
3★ Link to my review of Norman Foreman