What are you reading? 2024 Version

[Christine]

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston | audiobook Narrator Ruby Dee | book club selection

Not for me.

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

[Carolyn]

This is a promising start to a new Victorian historical mystery series
The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro

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

[Barbara]

I’m reading The Stockwell Letters by Jacqueline Friedland, historical fiction about the years leading to the Civil War. This novel tells the story of a woman abolitionist who in spite of a debilitating illness becomes involved in trying to rescue an escaped slave shortly after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. The story is told from multiple points of view, including that of the slave. Thoroughly engrossing.

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

The House On Sun Street by Mojgan Ghazirad

Quite an interesting OwnVoices Iranian historical fiction. I liked much of it, except for the final quarter.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Christine]

The Last Tea Bowl Thief by Jonelle Patrick | review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

First time reading a novel by this author. Jonelle Patrick wrote a lovely novel set in feudal and present-day Japan.

[Thomas]

I read The King Arthur Case: A Brittany Mystery by Jean-Luc Bannalec My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I compare this police procedural series to cerebral mystery authors such as Agatha Christie and Hakon Nesser. It is set in Brittany, France.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished The Bangalore Detectives Club #1 Kaveri and Ramu by Harini Nagendra. Delightful historical mystery set in 1920's India. Enjoyed the audio narration by Soneela Nankani. Rated 3 stars.

[Melanie]

I just finished The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard. I love Goddard.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I am a great fan of Mick Herron's Slough House series but didn't realise that The Secret Hours was so wonderfully connected to it. Loved seeing some old favourites, back in the day in Berlin.
My review of The Secret Hours

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished The Book of Bright Ideas ...love the cover! by Sandra Kring. Rated 5 stars and on my favorite shelf. Set in 1960's Wisconsin. Loved this as much as her Carry Me Home.

[Tiziana]

I finished yesterday

Death in Delft by Graham Brack

Hmm... well written, but I expected a little bit of more action and twists.
here is available my 3.5 stars review :

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

[Tammy]

currently rereading The Lost Queen bySigne Pike

[Alice]

I finished Death on the Nile . I have never read this, one of her most famous books. I need to read a book set in Africa for another reading challenge so it is a perfect fit. There is forward in the book from Ms. Christie stating she believes it to be on of the best of her foreign travel books. Good mystery and Egypt makes a wonderful setting

[Maureen]

Tammy wrote: "currently rereading The Lost QueenbySigne Pike"

Loved this book.

[Maureen]

I just finished The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Loved it

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

Finally caught up with two (very different) classics and enjoyed both!

1. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Can't believe I waited so long to read this!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

2. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Poetry isn't really my cup of tea, but this one worked excellently because I heard it.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Thomas]

I read Pushing Back the Desert: Inspired by True Events by Gordon Zuckerman The true event is the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran in 1953 by British and American spies. My 3.5 star review, rounded up: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Wayne]

Read Colonyside and reading Planetside by Michael Mammay. Both are excellent. Some of the best SciFi I've ever read. Just excellent.

[Sarah]

Just finished Yellowface and I have to be honest I’m not so sure how I truly felt about this book. My Review —> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Wayne]

I'm reading Michael Mammay's Colonyside and Planetside. Ecellent Science Fiction.

[Barb]

I'm now reading The Woman In The White Kimono by Ana Johns. I just finished All The Broken Places by John Boyne.

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

The Arsenic Eater's Wife by Tonya Mitchell

A historical fiction based on an actual 1890s case where a woman was arrested for killing her husband. A compelling work, despite a slightly OTT finish.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Janice]

I am rereading the New Testament books of the Bible, and Middlemarch by George Eliot although I am not very far in it as I am reading it at bedtime. ;) But I do remember quite a bit of it. I am also reading [book:The Diamond Eye|58490567 by Kate Quinn for my library book club. I didn't think I would like it but so far I am wrong about that!

[Janice]

Rosh (is busy; will catch up soon!) wrote: "Finally caught up with two (very different) classics and enjoyed both!

1. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Can't believe I waited so long ..."

Rosh, I love your review of Rebecca! It's how I felt the first time I read it a few years ago and I still remember it so vividly! I also watched the 1940 black and white movie Rebecca directed by Alfred Hitchcock which was so atmospheric and brought the book to life!

[Christine]

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger | audiobook read by CJ Wilson | My Review

In 1958, small town Jewel, Minnesota is rocked by the murder of its most prominent citizen and largest land owner. Richly written crime drama turns to a multi-jurisdiction action thriller.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I finished A Murder Is Announced and continuing to read Two for the Dough

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~]

Janice wrote: "Rosh, I love your review of Rebecca! It's how I felt the first time I read it a few years ago and I still remember it so vividly! I also watched the 1940 black and white movie Rebecca directed by Alfred Hitchcock which was so atmospheric and brought the book to life!"

Thanks so much, Janice! I haven't watched any adaptation of Rebecca yet as I wanted to get to the book first. But another friend of mine also recommended the Hitchcock version, so I might just give it a go, especially as it was made in a time when movies were fairly true to their source material Thanks for the rec! :)

[PattyMacDotComma]

It's the 30th anniversary of writer Anne Lamott's classic, Bird by Bird Good advice for writers, mixed with humour and entertaining anecdotes for us readers.
My review of Bird by Bird

[Suzanne]

I’ve been trying to knock off some of my old tbr list and am enjoying . Set in apartheid South Africa.

[Hannah]

I'm reading The Book That Wouldn't Burn

[Barbara]

I just finished reading Jacqueline Friedland’s The Stockwell Letters, and thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel about the consequences of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The story is told in the words of two main characters who are real historical figures: Anthony Burns, an escaped slave who was forced to return to the South, and Ann Phillips, the wife of Wendell Phillips (the famous abolitionist leader) who is an abolitionist in her own right. The third narrator, Collette, is a fictional southern woman married to a man with strong views on the inferiority of slaves and women. The relationships between husbands and wives as well as slaves and masters (or mistresses) are complex and nuanced, bringing to life a bygone era, and the people who fought for freedom and justice.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Evanly Choirs #3 Constable Evans by Rhys Bowen. Very much enjoying this cozy contemporary mystery series set in Wales. Rated 3 stars. Disappointed that neither Libby or Hoopla have the Audio available through our library system.

[Maureen]

I just finished The Womenby Kristin Hannah
This book brought back memories to me as I remembered this time in history.
It is about the brave and courageous nurses in Vietnam, who did not receive recognition.
5⭐️

[Andrew]

Almost finished reading Wolves of Winter , the second installment of Dan Jones' "Essex Dogs" trilogy. Jones is a medieval historian, and this trilogy is his first foray into the fictional realm.

[Tiziana]

I finished a complicated but also engaging mystery set in 18th century Venice, fascinating and mysterious city where vices and secrets were very well hidden under the masks.

Scherzo: Murder and Mystery in 18th Century Venice by Jim Williams

Here is my 4 stars review :
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sarah]

I just completed The Lost Book of Bonn which was a WWII/Holocaust novel —> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PattyMacDotComma]

Aussie/UK mystery writer Rachel Amphlett has a couple of stories on her website you might enjoy

Devil of a Favor is a very short story with a worrying premise and a twist.

My review of Devil of a Favor

[PattyMacDotComma]

The second story by Rachel Amphlett is A Burning Question, a longer mystery featuring Detective Kay Hunter from her well-known series, although this is a standalone. Narrowboats have become a target for arson.
My review of A Burning Question

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Finished Two for the Dough and starting Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

[Christine]

Finished Beartown by Fredrik Backman | Review

Outstanding novel from a new author for me.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I recently read T.J. Klune's quirky sci-fi adventure, In the Lives of Puppets. Known for his popular The House in the Cerulean Sea,(which I loved), here he has taken twists from "Pinocchio", "Alice in Wonderland", and "The Wizard of Oz". He even created an irrestisbly hilarious Nurse Ratched robot from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".
My review of In the Lives of Puppets

[Barb]

I've move on to:

The Muse of Freedom: a Cévenoles Sagas novel by Jules Larimore.

[Alice]

I am reading The House Is on Fire by Rachel Beanland. It is set in 1811 Richmond, VA. Very good so far. You don't see many books set in 1811 in the US

[elane jackson]

Just finished Before We Were Yours. Well written. So sad I almost didn't make it to the end.

[Eric]

Completed The Making of The African Queen Or How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and almost lost my mind .

Interesting memoirs by Katharine Hepburn. I had watched the movie many many years ago. Recently tripped over the book by C. S. Forester of "Hornblower" fame. I had never read the book. One led to the other. I shall watch the movie again with a different perspective.

A light read. Lots of photographs of the filming and life on the set of the movie.

A quick read. Entertaining.

[Barbara]

Staciewantstoreadmore wrote: "The Invention of Wings
The Last Rose of Shanghai,
Cilka's Journey
Hang the Moon
One Italian Summer"

Staciewantstoreadmore wrote: "The Invention of Wings
The Last Rose of Shanghai,
Cilka's Journey
Hang the Moon
One Italian Summer"

Eric wrote: "Finished Sea of Treason . Another tale of iron men and wooden ships in the British Navy's days of sail. Bermuda, Netherlan..."

I loved reading The Invention of Wings. Although Sarah and Angelina Grimke were prominent abolitionists, they have been largely forgotten. This book brings to life how Sarah, from a slaveholding family, was able to break through all the prejudices of her childhood. I also loved the fictional recreation of a slave girl’s life, and the author’s careful explanation in the endnote of which aspects of this historical novel was based on historical evidence and which aspects were an attempt to give voice to those whose voices went silent.

[Liza]

Just started a re-read of Things Fall Apart. Must have read this in middle school but I have no recollection of it at all.

[Sarah]

Thoroughly enjoyed The Women and definitely think it’ll be amongst my favorites for the year and yes it’s only February —> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Barbara]

Just finished reading The Things We Didn't Know by Elba Iris Perez. Fascinating story of young girl torn between two cultures striving to build her own life and define her own values.
Here is my review:

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

[Tammy]

Is 1974 considered historical? Currently reading The Deep End by Julie Mulhern