2023 - What Are You Reading? Showing 851-900 of 1,321

[Janice]

I am rereading Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery and enjoying every minute! <3

[Sandy]

enjoying the recommendations. thank you all!

[Dotty]

Janice wrote: "I am rereading Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery and enjoying every minute! <3"

I just read Anne of Green Gables. Ann with an E. Also enjoyed it.

[Rachel]

My library does not have a kindle version or I would read it.

[Rachel]

Miss Aldridge Regrets is a murder mystery by English author Louise Hare set in the 1930s jazz clubs and onboard a glamorous cruise liner. Here is my review

[PattyMacDotComma]

Rachel wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "It isn't marketed as a thriller, but Blood by acclaimed Aussie Aboriginal author Tony Birch had me so nervous I couldn't stop reading.
My library did not have this one. I did read The White Girl by the same author. I wish they had it"

I liked Blood better, Rachel, but The White Girl is excellent for its very real portrayal of a real part of Australian life.

[PattyMacDotComma]

When I link the title and cover, my post won't stick. But the review link seems to work.

"Calypso's Guest: A Short Story" is a unique, marooned-in-space retelling of Calypso's story from Homer's classic, The Odyssey. Pulitzer Prize winner, Andrew Sean Greer, combines tenderness with the Twilight Zone.

Here is my review of Calypso's Guest

[PattyMacDotComma]

My only regret with All the Devils Are Here is that Louise Penny set the story in Paris instead of Canada. All the family are together, though, and all are in life-threatening danger.
My review of All the Devils Are Here

[Helen]

Rachel wrote: "Miss Aldridge Regrets is a murder mystery by English author Louise Hare set in the 1930s jazz clubs and onboard a glamoro..."

I also read Miss Aldridge Regrets!
Not a cozy mystery but a costume drama with a little bit of historical fiction & very little period flavor.
I gave it 2 stars.

[Rachel]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "When I link the title and cover, my post won't stick. But the review link seems to work.

"Calypso's Guest: A Short Story" is a unique, marooned-in-space retelling of Calypso's story from Homer's c..."

Wow. It sounds great. I am going to see if my library has it.

[Rachel]

Drat, they do not.

[Rachel]

Alibi

I thought this book was about post WW Ii Venice. It takes place there but it about the war. I like the writing and would read another work by this author but I am TIRED of WW II novels.

Today I returned this book to the library after reading 30%.

[Janice]

Dotty wrote: "Janice wrote: "I am rereading Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery and enjoying every minute!

I just read Anne of Green Gables. Ann with an E. Also enjoyed it."

I love Anne! :) I read it at least once every year! :)

[Jassmine]

Absolutely love Anne too! I didn't quite finish the series yet though, still have The Blythes Are Quoted and Further Chronicles of Avonlea left (but I suspect there won't be so much Anne in those...)

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

For those who love Anne, do try Marilla of Green Gables as well. I am not one for retellings, and had picked this book up as an exception. I'm so glad I did.
Here's my review in case you want to have a look:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Chris]

Finished Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.

[Smart Aleck]

The Smell of Other People's Houses

I'm currently reading "The Smell of Other People's House's" by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock and it's short, character driven, and provides a younger perspective into the what it was like to live in Alaska in 1969. And it feels a little weird cause that timeline doesn't seem so long ago even though it sort of is.

[Rachel]

Chris wrote: "Finished Rules of Civility by Amor Towles."

What did you think of it?

[Rachel]

Smart Aleck wrote: "The Smell of Other People's Houses

I'm currently reading "The Smell of Other People's House's" by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock and it's short, character driven, and provides a younger pers..."

Thanks for the recommendation. I just put it on my wish list at the library.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Reading Magic's Pawn

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Elizabeth: A Novel of Elizabeth I by Evelyn Anthony. Rated 4 stars. First published in 1960. Wonderful dialogue and descriptions of the reign of Elizabeth I and her contemporaries.

[Carolyn]

It's always interesting to read one of Arthur W. Upfield's Bony novels for a snapshot of Australia's outback way of life in the 1930s.

Wings Above The Diamantina

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

[PattyMacDotComma]

Rachel wrote: "Drat, they do not."

Calypso's Guest is an Amazon original story, so I guess it will be available only on Amazon, presumably for Kindles.

[PattyMacDotComma]

One Little Word is all it takes to avert a crisis, as these children discover when The Argument (monster) takes over their playground in this expressive little book.

My review of One Little Word with lots of illustrations

[PattyMacDotComma]

David Nicholls is so good at showing awkward relationships where each person of a couple blows hot and cold at different times. One Day is St Swithin's Day, when a boy and girl, later as man and woman, plan to stay in touch or meet each year through their lives.

My review of One Day

[Jassmine]

Rosh [Semi-hiatus till mid-Sept] wrote: "For those who love Anne, do try Marilla of Green Gables as well. I am not one for retellings, and had picked this book up as an exception. I'm so glad I did."

Thanks for the rec! Looks intriguing 😊

[Rachel]

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Finished Elizabeth: A Novel of Elizabeth I by Evelyn Anthony. Rated 4 stars. First published in 1960. Wonderful dialogue and descriptions of the reign of Elizabeth I..."

I was not familiar with this author and have put Elizabeth on my wish list at the library. Thanks. Being as it was written so long ago, I am sure it is told in a chronological fashion which I miss in much of the new books.

[Rachel]

The Ninth Hour

This is a great novel for anyone who likes sad books.

[Sarah-Hope]

Naomi Hirahara's Evergreen is both an excellent mystery and a thought-provoking exploring of the experiences of Japanese-Americans at the end of WWII when they were released from detention centers.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead is a follow up to his Harlem Shuffle and is the second volume in what will be a trilogy. I do think readers will get more out of Crook Manifesto if they first read Harlem Shuffle. Crook Manifesto reads more like a set of novellas than a single novel, a structure that works well, pulling different figures to the forefront. Crook Manifesto is where the DNA of Harlem Shuffle is split apart into multiple strands, ready to be recombined in the finale of the series.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

The Only Daughter is what I think of as a "stealth read." A good stealth read has two characteristics:
1. The reader understands more than the narrator does due to historical or cultural knowledge.
2. The narrator recounts difficulties that have depths the she herself doesn't recognize.
Our narrator, Rachele Luzzato, is growing up Jewish in post-WWII Italy. In a way, Rachele is wise beyond her years: she's asking and attempting to answer questions about identity and faith and mortality that have become lifetime quests for some very remarkable thinkers. She doesn't realize that her questions are remarkable. She just knows that she not being told everything and can't understand why what seems like basic information should be withheld from her.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

Embroidery is a beautiful little book. Set in Iceland and the U.S. at the turn of the 20th Century, it tells the story of Sigurlina, a young woman, the daughter of the curator of a museum focused on early Icelandic history, who is bright, adventurous, knowledgeable—and stuck being housekeeper and amanuensis for her father while dreaming of something more.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

The Bookbinder The Bookbinder is set in and near Oxford during WWI. England has just joined the war, young men are eager to sign up, young women find themselves moving into new territory that was previously male. Refugees from Belgium have just arrived in town and receive a mixed review: some are welcoming; others resent them because they represent a war that England has joined—and "our boys" are being killed "over there," even though England itself has not been attacked.

This is a book with a rich ensemble cast. At the center of it are twin sisters, Peggy and Maude, who work as "folders" at Oxford University Press. Maude has difficulty communicating, so she uses a repertoire of phrases she's heard others using to express her own feelings and ideas. Peggy is smart and desperately frustrated spending her days folding pages instead of reading them. Somerville College at Oxford has been opened for female students.

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

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Rachel wrote: "Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Finished Elizabeth: A Novel of Elizabeth I by Evelyn Anthony. Rated 4 stars. First published in 1960. Wonderful dialogue and descriptions o..."

Yes, Rachel; the novel unfolds in chronological order. Made for a quick and easy read.

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

Jassmine wrote: "Thanks for the rec! Looks intriguing 😊"

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

[Sandy]

The Lost Sister of Fifth Avenue by Ella's Carey. Great WWIi Historical Fiction novel about two sisters on either side of the Atlantic during the beginning of the war.

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

Unnatural Creatures: A Novel of the Frankenstein Women by Kris Waldherr

A retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein from the perspective of the women in Victor Frankenstein's life. Very interesting!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Janice]

Rosh [Semi-hiatus till mid-Sept] wrote: "For those who love Anne, do try Marilla of Green Gables as well. I am not one for retellings, and had picked this book up as an exception. I'm so glad I did.
Here's my review in ca..."

Great review! I have this book on my too-long TBR list!

[Rachel]

Sarah-Hope wrote: "The Bookbinder The Bookbinder is set in and near Oxford during WWI. England has just joined the war, young men are eager to sign up, young women f..."

Sarah-Hope wrote: "The Bookbinder The Bookbinder is set in and near Oxford during WWI. England has just joined the war, young men are eager to sign up, young women f..."

Thanks for the recommendation, I was not familiar with this author and I put both of her books on my wish list.

[Rachel]

Wolf Hall

I started reading this today. I may have read it before but cannot remember.

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

Janice wrote: "Great review! I have this book on my too-long TBR list!"

Thanks. All of our TBRs are 'too-long' nowadays. :D But I hope you can get to this sooner than later. :)

[Alice]

I am reading and enjoying The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healy. Set in 1908 Boston. This book tells the tale of four immigrant young women who want to break away from the old way of doing things. There was an real club by this name in Boston at the time. Very interesting book.

[Sarah-Hope]

King of the Armadillos: Given the complexity of its content, Wendy Chin-Tanner's King of the Armadillos is a deceptively simple and gently paced novel. The novel tells the story of a year or so of Victor Chin's life in the U.S. during the 1950s. The story of that period is the story of Victor's diagnosis with Hansen's Disease, which most people know by its more familiar name of leprosy.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

Death in Rheims: A thrilling espionage adventure in Elizabethan Europe: C.P. Giuliani's Tom Walsingham mystery series is both entertaining and well researched. Tom is a first cousin once-removed to Elizabeth I's spymaster Francis Walsingham as well as a protege. Tom is young and has a great deal to learn, but he also pays careful attention to Francis' instruction and works hard to apply it to the many difficult situations in which he finds himself. In this volume, Tom has been sent to Rheims (as it was spelled at the time) on a two-part mission: first, to explore the possible murder of Francis' most reliable man in the city, and second, to investigate the situation at the Catholic College in Rheims—the main training ground for Catholic rescuants who hope to become priests an contribute to the battle to return England to "the old faith."

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

[Rachel]

Sarah-Hope wrote: " King of the Armadillos: Given the complexity of its content, Wendy Chin-Tanner's King of the Armadillos is a deceptively simple and gentl..."

Thanks for this recommendation. I put it on my wish list at the library.

[Sarah-Hope]

Learned by Heart is one of those books that takes you by the heart, pulling you along on a story of passionate, but frustrated love. The lovers in this instance are two young women at a boarding school in York in the early 1800s. The novel is based on the extensive, coded diaries of Anne Lister, one of those two young women.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

Murder at the Merton Library: As a general rule, I'm a bit of a purist as regards historical mysteries. I appreciate realism, the use of historical detail, and genuinely believable characters. Andrea Penrose's Wrexford and Sloane series is playful with a mix of characters unlikely to have historical counterparts, but they're just such fun reads that the have me tossing my purism aside and embracing far-fetched plot elements and characters.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

Rusted Souls is the final volume in Chris Nickson's DI Tom Harper series. I've been reading these titles since the get-go and will miss them, but this wrap-up is quite satisfactory in terms of both the mysteries at its center and the sense of closure it provides for readers who have grown fond of Harper and other characters. If you're a fan of historical mysteries, you'll appreciate not just Rusted Souls, but all the volumes in this series. Take your time with the characters and let yourself follow the trajectories of their lives—trust me, the payoff for readers keeps increasing with each new volume.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose: The Enola Holmes series has grown on me. I always found the series fun in a sort of feminist-historical way, but was disappointed that Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes functioned as enemies, rather than supporters, of Enola. Over time, Enola has begun to receive the familial support she deserves, so that has added to my enjoyment of the series. This mystery involves a disappeared American book rep, a dear friend of Rudyard Kipling, who has disappeared in London and may have been bitten by a rabid dog. These elements makes The Mark of the Mongoose a missing person case/medical adventure/rescue mission with an element of male friendship that borders on romance, but never quite goes that far.

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

[Sarah-Hope]

The Square of Sevens is a perfect Gothic summer read. It's long, convoluted, populated with characters both lovely and wicked, and immersed in that sense of dread that propels readers along.

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