What are You Reading - 2023

[Rusalka, Moderator]

What are you reading at the moment? Is it a challenge read, for us or other groups you may belong to, or a just because book? Is it good or just so so? This is the thread to let us all know about the book you are currently reading at the moment, so spill!

[Kristie, Moderator]

Happy New Year! I ended 2022 with One Last Child for my yearly challenge. It was really good, but I haven't written my review yet.

I am kicking off 2023 with I'm Glad My Mom Died, which I may use for the monthly challenge, and Just Get Home for our group read.

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm currently reading Caliban's War on audiobook. It was to be my last road trip, but now it will be my left over stew challenge.

I will start Murder in an Irish Village later today and it will be my first book puzzle to start,

[PattyMacDotComma]

HAPPY NEW YEAR! First review of 2023. I finished off last year's reading with Irish author Claire Keegan's wonderful novella, Foster, about a girl who is fostered by a couple while her mum has a baby. Loved it. Great start to the year!
5★ My review of Foster

[PattyMacDotComma]

Queen Elizabeth never expected to be Queen, but she sure did the job well and was much loved for her common touch and dedication. Children's book author Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara shows her as a child, a teen, and an adult in this great introduction for kids. (Not a bad refresher for grown-ups!]
5★ My review of Queen Elizabeth with several illustrations

[PattyMacDotComma]

I had a lot of fun with The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, which is as quirky as the title suggests. There are orphans and a manor house, deadly threats, romance (bit sexy) and some quite naughty language. Something for the LGBT+ community as well. Oh yes - and magic spells! A most entertaining read.
4★ My review of ...Irregular Witches

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called Beneath Devil's Bridge by Loreth Anne White

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I'm currently reading Home Fire for Pakistan, although at the moment it is very much UK/USA based. Let's see where I end up :)

Even if I need to rethink this later, I have wanted to read this for years after studying and performing Antigone in year 10 drama.

[Lilisa]

I finished Through a Glass, Darkly by Donna Leon - the first book read for my 2023 YLTO yearlong challenge. I’m enjoying this series set in Venice, Italy. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I’m reading The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill by Brad Meltzer. It’s actually nonfiction - yes by Brad Meltzer, who usually writes fiction.

I’m also listening to Louise Penny’s latest book A World of Curiosities.

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished my first book of 2023, Caliban's War. I have the next book, so I'll slate it for Alien. I started True Biz today.

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called Brain Death by John Benedict

[Christine]

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished True Biz yesterday. I wanted to like it more than I did. The technique used of mixing non-fiction with fiction was interesting.

I started The Jekyll Revelation this afternoon. I't my first time reading this author, Robert Masello. Too bad his last name didn't start with an N. Oh well, the cover shows a man wearing a top hat.

[PattyMacDotComma]

What an intriguing short story is The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges. It is a kind of choose-your-own adventure wartime spy story. What really happened?
5★ My review with a link to the story online.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Who would ever have thought the French might like to reclaim Paris as their own after WWII? An American is disappointed to find "his" wartime Paris so changed in F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, Babylon Revisited .

3.5~4★ My review with a link to the story online.

[Dem]

Finished The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride byDaniel James Brown

My review:www.goodreads.com/review/show/5207020349

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished Murder in an Irish Village. It was better than I anticipated. Tonight I start The Blue Bar to help solve another crossword puzzle clue.

[Tricia]

I'm currently listening to The Child Is the Teacher: A Life of Maria Montessori and reading Around the World in Eighty Days on Kindle.

I've set myself a goal this year to read at least one nonfiction title and one classic each month. I feel like those are genre in which I read the least but really enjoy when I get around to them.

[Lilisa]

Finished The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch - nonfiction - I enjoyed it. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I’m listening to The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon - mystery - the 17th book in the Commissario Brunetti series.

I’m reading The End Of The World Is Just The Beginning: Mapping The Collapse Of Globalization by Peter Zeihan - nonfiction, and The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod - historical fiction.

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called The Patient by Jane Shemilt

[PattyMacDotComma]

If you think the British royal family is in disarray now, just be thankful they aren't burning 'heretics' at the stake. 🔥 You didn't dare be out of favour with King Henry VIII.

I love the Matthew Shardlake historical mystery series by C.J. Sansom. Lamentation is #6.
4.5~5★ My review

[PattyMacDotComma]

Brighten your day with a starry night! Look Up at the Stars by Katie Cotton is a children's picture book where a little bear who wants a star finds his own light.
4★ My review with lots of illustrations

[Dem]

Dem wrote: "Finished and enjoyed Lady Audley's Secret

My Review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/5218578460"

[Cherie]

I'm quitting work for the day and going to go sit down with my cup of coffee and start Troll: A Love Story for the monthly challenge.

[Tricia]

I finished my self-imposed one nonfiction and one classic a month challenge. Around the World in Eighty Days was a little strange for me, but I liked the ending very much.


I've moved on to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Newt's Emerald which I thought I had a place for in the yearly challenge, but I already have another task slated for the first badge for that puzzle. Oh well, it's short, and I've already started, so I'll read it anyway.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Ernest Hemingway was known for deceptively simple storytelling that can be surprisingly thought-provoking. This short story takes place late night in a Spanish cafe that is A Clean Well-Lighted Place.
5★ My review with a link to the story online

[PattyMacDotComma]

Sean Wilson's Gemini Falls is a small coal-mining town in 1930s Australia where a murder is being investigated near the shacks of depression-era homeless families, camped by the river. Obvious suspects, of course.
3★ My review of Gemini Falls

[Jayme, Moderator]

I am planning on starting A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham for the monthly challenge. It wasn't my original plan for the challenge, but my hold came up at the library and my afternoon is set!

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called Drown Her Sorrows by Melinda Leigh

[Janice, Moderator]

I gave up on The Blue Bar. There's no point in struggling through a book when there are lots to take it's place. The book I will read instead is The Witch of Tin Mountain.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Jayme wrote: "I am planning on starting A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham for the monthly challenge. It wasn't my original plan for the challenge, but my hold came up at..."

I really enjoyed this one, Jayme!

[Lilisa]

I finished The Book Spy by Alan Hlad, which counts for the yearlong challenge. It was a good read about a woman librarian turned spy, turned double agent during World War II. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Also finished The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon - the 25th book in the Commissario Brunetti series. It was a great listen with narrator David Colacci. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I’m listening to The White Mosque by Sofia Samatar and reading If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power for the January monthly challenge.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Daniella Mestyanek Young has written a much-discussed story of her life in 'cults' - first a supposedly religious one, and then the US Army. The colourful cover art of Uncultured: A Memoir should be reflected in the print title as "UnCULTured". Quite a story.
4★ My review of UnCULTured (my spelling)

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called Right Behind Her by Melinda Leigh

[Shirley]

I am in a reading slump at the moment. I have read only 1 book this year, and I feel like I need to slow down and really savour the books I read. I'm not going to set a reading goal this year, but I like the challenges so I'll do those.

[Janice, Moderator]

I hope your slump will slip away soon, Shirley!

[PattyMacDotComma]

Shirley wrote: "I am in a reading slump at the moment. I have read only 1 book this year, and I feel like I need to slow down and really savour the books I read. I'm not going to set a reading goal this year, but ..."

I don't know if you enjoy short stories, Shirley, but sometimes they serve me well when I'm not getting engrossed in a book.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Oh, how I love finding a new favourite book! Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller is a compassionate thriller, if there even is such a thing. Great read!
5★ My review of Norwegian by Night

[Shirley]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Shirley wrote: "I am in a reading slump at the moment. I have read only 1 book this year, and I feel like I need to slow down and really savour the books I read. I'm not going to set a reading goal..."
That’s a good idea. I have started listening to audiobooks as well.

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished The Dry yesterday. It seemed to take a long time for me to finish it for some reason. I gave it 4 stars.

Today, I'll be starting Wolfhunter River. I would like to finish this series soon.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Hope your reading slump passes soon, Shirley. I tend to go back to a genre I really enjoy and is easy to read, with no challenge or good responsibilities attached. Hopefully audiobooks help too!

[Rusalka, Moderator]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Oh, how I love finding a new favourite book! Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller is a compassionate thriller, if there even is such a thing. Great read!
[bookcove..."

I've had this on my shelf for ages! So glad you enjoyed it, Patty. May need to see where I can slot it in sometime soon...

[Shirley]

It's gratifying to know that others have had a reading slump, and have such good advice. I just finished reading Ithaca. As a child I loved reading about the Greek and Roman myths and I like the modern take on these stories. The cover is gorgeous too.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I definitely have reading slumps, Shirley. I think most people do.

My reading this year has been slower than usual and until today I had only finished one book. I was behind in my reading challenge for the year and I had already reduced it by 20 books! Fortunately, I was able to finish two books today, even if they were shorter books, and I started an easy read.

I finished:

Seedfolks - This was a quick little story about a community that comes together over a garden. It was very sweet. 3★ My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Yellow Wife - A very good, but difficult read. 4★ My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just started:

Begin Again - I'm about 1/3 into it and it is pretty much exactly what you would expect. I needed a lighter, easier read after Yellow Wife.

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called Beyond Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury

[Kabrada]

I am currently mysteried out - I need something different, so I'll start reading/listening to The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain.
It's been ages since I last read Bryson.

[Gavin]

I'm reading The Chronoliths

[Dem]

Finished The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

My review: www.Goodreads.com/review/show/5186035846

[Dem]

Just finished Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall by Helena Merriman

MyReview: www.goodreads.com/review/show/5261158420

[Kristie, Moderator]

Halfway through Begin Again and it's still just what you'd expect. An ok read, but nothing really special.

I started Bury the Lead for an Audible challenge and because it fit for a challenge in another group as well. I love this series. The humor is just right for me.