Starleigh

One of my favorites in this genre is The Painted Veil. Funny story, I saw it in the theater when it came out. The audience was mostly senior citizens, a few random women of varying ages (including me) and a group of early 20s frat boy types. When it finished, and the credits started rolling, some of the frat boys started clapping. Since I was sitting close by and could overhear their conversation, I was amused to hear that evidently they had stumbled into the wrong room in the theater, but by the time they figured that out, they were caught up in the movie and decided to stay. They were saying stuff like, "Wow, that was really good!"

I second Josephine Tey. You might also like M.C. Beaton. She has a few series. They are light/humorous but definitely have that British mystery feel.

Queena, I know this isn't the book recommendation thread, but have you ever read City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin? It sounds right up your alley, with the Russian history. It's a great historical novel of suspense, in any case.

Tbh, I don't recall all the details that well, I read the book and the follow up critiques when it was first published , which was several years ago, so I don't remember a ton of specific details about her marriage. But I do recall a book review/rebuttal by Frimet Goldberger which debunked Feldman 's story of a cloistered upbringing and the great lengths she claimed to have to go to, to secretly register in college, I think the two of them registered and attended classes at Sarah Lawrence together and it was far from a secret. And, if I also recall correctly, that was around the time of Feldman's media blitz for her second book, and when a reporter brought that up to her, she got angry but didn't actually refute anything that Goldberger had written. As I said, this was several years ago, so it's kind of hazy in my mind. I feel like I read a lot of this coverage in The Forward (??). Anyway, the vast majority of people refuting her story weren't actually Hasidic Jews, it was from people who had left that community as well. If you are interested, one of them wrote a memoir that was pretty good. (And accurate, as far as I can tell. Nobody wrote anything to refute his story, lol.) I think it is called, All Who Go Do Not Return. The author's name is Shulem Deen.

As I recall it was an interesting read. But, not strictly an autobiographical memoir. There are so many nuances to various religious Jewish groups, that it is hard to know what rings true and what does not, unless you are actually a part of the specific group. So, while I am not a part of the Hasidic world, I've read similar memoirs of people leaving the Orthodox Jewish world and a lot of the details are extremely exaggerated or even made up. Things are stated as religious practices when they actually aren't. There are so many myths and inaccurate portrayals. A lot is done to heighten the drama. I actually just looked up the friend who debunked a lot of the book, and I see she has written some reviews of the show as well as the books for CNN as well as other news sites-- her name is Frimet Goldberger, if you are interested in reading some background story.

I read Unorthodox several years ago when it came out...just an fyi, a lot of her book is fictionalized too. (The New York Post had a field day digging stuff up that contradicted a lot of what she described as her family background. And some of her friends as well-- well, former friends, lol, debunked a lot of what she described as her forced marriage.) Her actual upbringing was nowhere near as restricted as she describes, either. Her mom was actually a (non Hasidic) professor at a local college, and she lived with her and her younger sister until at some point she decided she wanted to move in with her grandparents, iirc. I am currently reading Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham. So far, fairly typical thriller. Keeping my attention, even if I am not on the edge of my seat.

Yes, Time Enough for Drums was also great. It was her first, and imo, best historical fiction book. She wrote a couple of decent ones and then, I don't know what happened, but she started churning them out and they were mostly unreadable imo. A ghostwriter, maybe?? But it's a shame she didn't write more contemporary fiction, because the few that she did write were all very good. Another one was, But in the Fall I'm Leaving. But Term Paper was the best! Now, for an interesting tidbit...years ago, when I was still in high school (so, early 90s), I almost fell out of my chair while reading letters to the editor in the New York Times, by one of my favorite authors, Ann Rinaldi. I don't recall exactly what she was responding to, but it must have been about women in journalism or something like that, because she wrote about her basic life story and how she got started writing (which I really don't recall), BUT she wrote about having been raised by an emotionally absent (possibly emotionally abusive??) father, due to her mom dying when she was a baby, with the only nurturing coming from her much older maternal aunts. Her dad always putting down her ambitions of wanting to become a journalist, etc.... ANYWAY! As young as I was, the pieces just clicked for me...all those books she wrote with detached, disinterested widowed dads and daughters trying to prove themselves, yet failing...the protective older brother as father figure (I guess something she had always fantasized about) made PERFECT sense.

I don't think I've ever met anyone who ever mentioned that book. But I loved it when I was around 12. Never forgot it, it was very haunting. I tracked down a copy not long ago and re-read it. My biggest surprise was that I thought it would be a bleak and grim reread, which is why it took me so long to even decide to re-read it. But, to my surprise, reading it as an adult, there is a clear tone of hopefulness and optimism throughout, and definitely at the end, despite the subject matter! And still an excellent read, so poignant, especially in the acknowledgements where she thanked the taxi driver who shared his father's life story. I've always been a big reader. So I don't have a specific book that changed my life or turned me on to reading. That said, here are some impactful books I read in my teens--books that I loved, read over and over, and enjoyed making up day dreams about story plot continuations: Term Paper by Ann Rinaldi The Truth Trap by Frances Miller Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell April Morning by Howard Fast Perdita by Isabelle Holland

I don't think the term "gay" was in common use back in the 1920s and 30s? So I don't think LMM was hinting at anything there. With Cissy. Interesting points about Walter. But my take on him, is more that LMM wanted to portray him as the sensitive poet type, the kind who was dreamy and other worldly, and, tbh, she was not that great at writing realistic male characters, for the most part, most were either over idealized or two dimensional. The sensitive artiste like John Meredith or the rabble rouser like Norman Douglas. I like both Gilbert and Teddy, but they are rather bland. She was definitely limited with depicting a realistic fatherly figure (Rubio's thoughts on the way she romanticized her father while ripping apart her stepmother are fascinating and likely play a role in this). Her real strength was writing interesting, flawed, but extremely likeable female characters of all ages. She was not that great at writing realistic young boy characters either--they tended to be either mischievous yet manly scalawags like Davy or romanticized ethereal types like Paul. I always thought that Jem (as a boy) calling Anne "mother dearwums" seemed a bit much, even for those times. I think she tried with Walter, and it is to her credit he isn't as boringly perfect as Paul even if she does portray him as the romantic poet. (Also, IIRC, there are a couple of hints here and there that he had a bit of a crush on Faith Meredith.) Now whether or not LMM was gay or had those inclinations, interesting to ponder, but no real proof. The whole way she describes the Herman Laird scenario was a bit odd. I sort of see it as her being a passionate and intense woman, wanting to have that emotional roller coaster and sort of convincing herself she was desperately in love. Because she wanted that experience and didn't sound like she ever met anyone who made her feel that way. And she met this good looking guy she was attracted to, and made a bigger deal out of than it was. True, she had an intense relationship with her cousin Frede. But it seemed more like the intense friendship girls have with their BFF in their teens, then sort of eventually grow a bit detached as they grow up and especially once they form romantic relationships with others. I never read it as romantic. That's my take, anyway. YMMV with all of the above, of course:) Just wanted to say, btw, I love this thread and all of the analyses here about LMM, her books, and characters!

I wish I'd bought more than just season 1 when it was streaming on Amazon. But I didn't, because it was on prime. I'm hoping it will come back at some point. I prefer streaming to DVDs at this point, because I like watching on a tablet and not having to deal with physical storage.

The only character (and therefore, author) with purple eyes that I can give a pass to, is Emily of New Moon (LM Montgomery). But Emily is such an interesting, three dimensional character that it never becomes one of those lazy tropes. (Same for "spunky" red headed Anne of Green Gables...but I wonder if that is the origin of it all??) My crime fiction recommendation is the series about Julian Kestrel, by Kate Ross--Regency Era whodunit set of books that are very, very good. First book is titled Cut to the Quick.

I'm really tempted to buy it. I had preordered it at the library (and was not too high up in the queue) which is now closed indefinitely:( I'm going to try to hold out and just avoid spoilers.

It's just the tone of the writing, I guess. Tyler makes everything sound so dark and drabby. And I never found her characters sympathetic or likeable. BTW, most of the stores LL mentions are from before my time, like the 70s, but my parents mentioned them often enough so they ring a bell, though I can't recall any now, lol. ( And a lot of her name dropping is from downtown in the city, and I'm not super familiar with that area.) I would guess it is mostly from the 60s or 70s when she was growing up, because it's so clearly out of nostalgia, lol. (Although out of my own nostalgia, I wouldn't mind a mention of Hechts. They didn't totally close until the late 90s, iirc!) Anyway, I'm not this huge Lippman fan, but if I see she has a new book, I will always check it out of the library.

I grew up in Baltimore and intensely dislike Tyler's books. I find them so depressing. They make me feel so smothered. When she describes the homes (built post ww2, all alike, so I grew up in a house like that and so did most of my friends) it is so, so depressing. BTW, I didn't have this horrible childhood or anything but like most people, I have a few creepy/sad memories, and her books just dredge up those feelings for me. It's weird, I can read Laura Lippman's books set in Baltimore and don't mind it at all, even though all her nostalgic name dropping of old stores that no longer exist make me roll my eyes a bit, but it doesn't make me feel depressed in the slightest.

I've been waiting! ETA: my sister totally had that phone!!

Huh. I had no idea this was being made into a mini series until I came across this thread. I read the book a few months ago, and thought it was fascinating. The preview looks quite promising. Looking forward to this. June 28 is Not that far away!

Has anyone watched Second Date Sex? It came up as recommended after I finished 1917, I guess because one of the leads is George Mackay, and since it's prime I figured I'd give it a try. What a departure from 1917😆 Not the usual type of movie I'd watch, I really can't handle secondhand embarrassment, and I did cringe every now and then and had to take a short break because OMG the awkwardness factor was insane! That said, it's still funny, entertaining, and surprisingly sweet. I recommend it, but, word of advice, plan to watch it solo, I don't think I'd have made it through with another human watching along with me🤣

So, I had ordered one of The Fabulous Five super editions (by Betsy Haynes) out of nostalgia and am currently rereading it after a gap of, like, 25 years+. I must admit, it does not hold up well, especially when compared to a series such as the BSC or even SVT, which are still quite readable, with relatable and interesting characters. This one (the one where they have a sleepover and switch bodies) is just annoying to read now, with equally unlikable characters! It almost makes me wonder if it was written by a ghostwriter possibly, because I recently re-read an oldie but goodie by Betsy Haynes--The Great Mom Swap-- and I really enjoyed the nostalgic read.

Yes, when Mary went to visit her friend instead of coming home, Ma told Laura she was glad Mary had the chance to travel a bit and have experiences because once she was home, she'd be home to stay.

At some point, though, iirc, Ma told the girls to just stay in bed till later in the morning. I guess to stay warm and preserve their fuel (I guess while they still had coal).

Read Brides of Gold that Dearevette recommended recently, and really enjoyed it. Easy weekend afternoon escapist read. When I was a kid, the wagon train going West was a pretty popular setting/plot, and I always enjoyed those books. However, it seems to have fallen out of vogue and I can't remember the last time I read one. I also read Upside Down in a Laura Ingalls Town, about a family that participates in the filming of a reality TV show where the premise is that it's set in 1861 and they have to totally immerse themselves in it, with no modern stuff at all (not even toilet paper). It was an interesting enough read, with the little quibble that, strictly speaking, Laura Ingalls hadn't been born yet during 1861, lol. But I enjoyed it for what it was.

It's not that I didn't like the characters or plot, it's just that I never felt the passion between the characters or chemistry of any of the love affairs. Unlike Middlemarch! You can feel the unrequited love dripping off the page from Will! The jealous possessivness of Casaubon! The slowly awakening of Dorothea! Lol! I told you I'm a geeky George Eliot fan girl, don't get me started on Daniel Deronda and the intense chemistry he and Gwendolyn had!

I've been meaning to see it for awhile and finally did, this week. It's a shame I didn't get a chance to see it in the theater because I can only imagine how amazing that would've been. Oh well. This way, I got to immediately return to certain scenes and rewatch them, catching little details I missed the first time around when I was just caught up in the tenseness. One detail I did pick up (since someone was questioning it above lol). was how Schofield got the letter delivered undamaged...If you watched carefully while he was hitching a ride on the convoy at one point he takes it out of his front pocket and puts it in his little metal carrying case that he kept his family photos in. Also, it not being bloodied...it was in Blake's pocket on the side that the blood hadn't spread to (the other side was where the map was and it was all bloodied so Schofield had to discard it). of course, it should've been slightly smeared with blood from Schofield's hand, but it really was such a tightly done movie with no loose ends, so I can let that go, lol. There were so many things I loved about it. Just a fabulous movie all around. I rarely have the patience to sit and watch a movie in 1 sitting but this one I did.

Just to add to the list, remember Jessi's Secret Language and her learning ASL to communicate with a child who was deaf? Also pretty intense for a paperback book series! BTW, since you guys were discussing the topic of diabetes in children's books, I know it's not a series, but have you ever read Sugar Isn't Everything by Willo Davis Roberts? Published around the same time but up to date with diabetes medical stuff for the times. I grew up with a diabetic brother and it bugged me that Stacey would talk about testing her urine for blood sugar levels, when it should have been pricking her fingers for a blood test in the late 80s!