THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU FINISHED?
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by Alka JoshiThis is the sequel to The Henna Artist and revisits the characters from that novel. It's a complex plot that revolves around a collapsed balcony, and the wrongful blame that follows.
Good story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Christopher HinzIn the future, Earth is destroyed and humans live on artificial habitats. A cabal with an agenda has plans to seize power.
Good sci-fi book. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Two days ago, I finished reading the new biography "White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America’s Darkest Secret" by A.J. Baime.
The name Walter F. White (1892-1955) should be more widely known to all Americans, especially those people who love and cherish democracy and believe that the United States, for all its boasts, should always strive to "form a more perfect Union." For no nation that calls itself a democracy is free if the rights of any of its citizens are threatened or stripped away from them.
Prior to reading White Lies, I had a dim awareness of who Walter White was. I knew that he was a light-skinned African American man (who could easily be mistaken for a white man) who had headed America's oldest civil rights organization, the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at a time when Jim Crow segregation was firmly set in law across the country (in particular, in the South) and the rights of African Americans were not respected by government and mainstream society. I had occasionally seen photos of Walter White, some showing him with historical figures more familiar to me such as Thurgood Marshall, Roy Wilkins, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. But he wasn't someone I gave much thought to. Besides, in all my U.S. history classes I had had in public school and college, his name never came up.
Then along came this book, which I first saw online many weeks ago, and I later watched a TV interview with its author. My curiosity was piqued and so, I went to the local library and borrowed the book. What a life this man had! ...
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by Joy EllisDetective Inspector Nikki Galena and Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter investigate arson in the fens.
Slow but okay story. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Joanna SchaffhausenA serial killer from 20 years ago seems to be back.
Detective Annalisa Vega investigates.
Good mystery. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Someone Like You, an interesting collection of short stories by Roald Dahl. 4.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse
by Chris Riddell wonderful fantasy 4.5 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Clare WhitfieldThis novel is a unique take on Jack the Ripper. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A short time ago, I finished reading "America's Bank: The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve" by Roger Lowenstein.
Exciting stuff, with heaps of high drama.
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by M.A. HunterA wheelchair-bound mother becomes suspicious of a new acquaintance.
Character study/police procedural 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Murder with Orange Pekoe Tea by Karen Rose SmithTearoom owner/amateur sleuth Daisy Swanson investigates the murder of a lawyer.
Entertaining cozy. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memoryby Sarah Polley
Canadian actress/director/producer Sarah Polley discusses some of her memories and how they affected her life....especially recollections of being a child star.
Interesting memoir. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Barbara wrote: " Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memoryby Sarah Polley
Can..."
Such an interesting and talented young woman, both as an actress and director.
Breakdown
by David Alexander Robertson (Reckoner Rises #1) 3.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Version Control
by David Alexander Robertson (Reckoner Rises #2) 3.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Lia MiddletonAn anxious woman spins a web of lies after tragedy occurs.
Engaging story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Alexander McCall SmithIn this series, professional philospher Isabel Dalhousie always applies ethics to the situations in her life, from dealing with a tricky investment banker to dealing with an invasive fox.
Interesting story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tucker Peak
by Archer Mayor, an excellent Joe Gunther mystery 5.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Suzanne O'SullivanDr. Sullivan writes about psychomatic illnesses, like 'sleeping sickness.'
Interesting book. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Pride and Prejudice by Jane AustenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
There was not much to add, except my 2 cents, to novel that has been dissected by everyone.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Alexander McCall SmithA woman called La passes WWII in a country town where she conducts an amateur orchestra meant to lift people's sprits.
Good story. 3.5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Horror of the Heights and Other Tales of Suspense
by Arthur Conan Doyle 4.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Alex FinlayTwo similar multiple killings - in a Blockbuster and an ice cream shop - occur 15 years apart. A pregnant FBI agent investigates along with the cops.
Good thriller. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Arthur Conan Doyle 4.0 starshttps:/..."
Good to hear Doyle's 'non-Sherlock' writing is good as well. 🙂
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by Joanna SchaffhausenPolice detective Ellery Hathaway confronts the serial killer she escaped from years before.
Graphic violence. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Per My Last Email: Curious Words and Clever Phrases to Vivify, Excite Delight Your Work World by Stephanie K. WrightFor this fun book, Stephanie Wright scoured dictionaries, dusty books, and more to come up with this collection of alternative ways to express yourself.
Clever book. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of reading the new Lawrence Osborne novel, "On Java Road: A Novel."
ON JAVA ROAD immerses the reader into the life of a middle-aged, jaded, British expatriate journalist (Adrian Gyle) in post-colonial Hong Kong. Hong Kong has been home to Adrian since shortly after the 1997 Handover. He has thoroughly insinuated himself into various aspects of the city's life and culture, speaking Cantonese and Mandarin fluently.
This is a novel in which "[t]he old Hong Kong of laws and judges in British wigs had been deconstructed overnight and in its place there had emerged a wild twilight totalitarian world in which rumor, hyperbole, hatred, tribalism, and supposition were regnant." Lawrence writes novels in the vein of Graham Greene and he does it well. Indeed, this is the second Lawrence Osborne novel I've read and I savored the experience.
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by Dana StabenowAlaskan private investigator Kate Shugak helps her State Trooper boyfriend investigate two murders.
Attmospheric mystery. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Louise PennyChief Inspector Armand Gamache' investigates a New Year's Eve murder.
Penny includes the Covid pandemic in the story. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
To Journey in the Year of the Tiger
by H. Leighton Dickson (4.0 stars)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Ann CleevesIn this 10th novel in the Vera Stanhope series, the intrepid sleuth investigates a suspicious death on Holy Island, a tourist destination off the west coast of Scotland.
Entertaining mystery. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Blake CrouchLogan Ramsey is accidently genetically 'upgraded', and discovers a scheme to 'improve' the genome of every person in the world. He's opposed and takes steps.
Good sci-fi thriller. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Earlier this week, I finished reading the novel "We Germans" by Alexander Starritt.
We Germans is a generational story in which an old man (Meissner) leaves behind a letter for his half German/half British grandson in which he tries to explain to him his experiences as a soldier in the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front during World War II. The grandson also provides the reader with intermittent insights into the postwar lives of his German grandparents --- as well as some aspects of German culture.
If you like children's stories or are looking for one to share with your children, Cress Watercress
by Gregory Maguire 4.5 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Gregory Maguire 4.5 stars..."
Sounds like a charming story. (It's boo bad the puppies didn't appreciate it. LOL)🌞
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We Germans is a generational story in which an..."
It would be interesting to hear a WWII story from a German soldier's POV.
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by Julia CrouchA mother-to-be influencer takes a naive young woman under her wing. She gets more than she bargained for in this psychological thriller.
Good story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class by Lawrence Otis GrahamMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A nice book about the black professional class whose importance is being downplayed by celebrity.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Philipp SchottThis first 'Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery' is set in a frosty Canadian town in mid-winter. It features murder, theft, and a good sniffer dog.
Entertaining cozy mystery. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Elif ShafakThe Island of Missing Trees revolves around a couple who met in Cyprus shortly before the 1974 Cypriot civil war.
Very good story. 5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Through a Glass, Darkly
by Donna Leon (Commissario Brunetti #15) 4.0 starshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Hannah MorrisseyWhen a mysterious key draws a photographer back to her home town in Michigan, she gets caught up in a murder investigation.
Good thriller. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Sandra DallasDuring the Spanish Flu pandemic, which coincided with WWI, two sisters in Denver experience life-changing events.
Good story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Loren D. EstlemanDetroit private detective Amos Walker looks into the case of a man who may have been wrongly convicted.
Entertaining detective story. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Aimee MolloyA social group of women experiences a tragedy when one of their babies goes missing.
Good story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Barbara wrote: "Cutthroat Dogs by Loren D. EstlemanDetroit private detective Amos Walker looks into the case of a man who may have been wrongly ..."
I've got one of this series. Looking forward to trying it.
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by Loren D. EstlemanI've got one of this series. Looking forward to trying it..."
Estleman writes good mysteries. 🌞
I just finished Mary Astor's Purple Diary - loved it. a 30's Hollywood scandal and the life of an award-winning illustrator, writer who first uncovered the story...literally..under the kitchen linoleum.Loved it..
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THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
Books mentioned in this topic
The Skull Mantra (other topics)Murder With Chocolate Tea (other topics)
The Left Hand of Darkness (other topics)
The Good Neighbors (other topics)
Listen for the Lie (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Eliot Pattison (other topics)Karen Rose Smith (other topics)
Holly Black (other topics)
Amy Tintera (other topics)
Rachel Hawkins (other topics)
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