What Are We Currently Reading?

[Rushmoras]

Well, completed today War and Peace Vol. 2.

Spoiler

It ended with Anatolij Kuragin being forced to chose: either forget Natasha and get the hell out of... I'd like to say Moscow, but I might be wrong, or face Pjer in a duel. So, he chose exile. As for Natasha, she, after hearing the news that her "fiance" was actually married, tried to take her own life away, but in the end decided to call for help.

Um, this whole book series (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 at least) is a peculiar one - on the one hand you have like 3 parts which are mind numbingly boring, and then you have two parts that are more or less good.

Anyways, won't be reading Volumes 3 and 4 of this book. I got the gist of it.

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Well, completed today War and Peace Vol. 2.

  Hide contents

It ended with Anatolij Kuragin being forced to chose: either forget Natasha and get the hell out of... I'd like to say Moscow, but I might be wrong, or face Pjer in a duel. So, he chose exile. As for Natasha, she, after hearing the news that her "fiance" was actually married, tried to take her own life away, but in the end decided to call for help.

Um, this whole book series (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 at least) is a peculiar one - on the one hand you have like 3 parts which are mind numbingly boring, and then you have two parts that are more or less good.

Anyways, won't be reading Volumes 3 and 4 of this book. I got the gist of it.

Congratulations on making it through it. That was a big undertaking.

[Rushmoras]

57 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Congratulations on making it through it. That was a big undertaking.

Thanks, I know. Now, I think I will treat myself one of these days with rereading classic Stephen King :D

[Anduin]

I finished Mercy of Gods. Very hmm, you know? Very different from the Expanse. Slower paced, not as much science, fewer characters. Some nice weird aliens, though. Ultimately, I'm not sure I really liked it. Will I buy the next one? I don't know. I'm not saying it's bad, I just wasn't into it. Your reactions might be different.

[isalicat]

I just finished what I thought was going to be a murder-mystery set in rural Sweden called Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson. Lots of accolades in various places for this including all sorts of Swedish literary awards. The premise is good: A rape/murder takes place on the same night as the assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme and then a second young woman disappears...followed some time later in the same little town by the attempted rape/murder of another woman and the murder of her husband. The policeman in charge of the investigation is the central character of the first third of the novel and then his son (who also becomes a policeman) is the central character of the second third, with the last part told from the point of view of a writer who grew up in the area, knows all these people from childhood, but has left for a life in Stockholm, and now returned to write all about the murders etc. If any of you have read this book I would be interested in your opinion. When I turned the last page I was pretty disappointed; it is a more a very long meditation in writing about the nature of guilt and assumptions about people we think we know than a good crime story or even a good novel.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 8/23/2024 at 2:26 PM, isalicat said:

I just finished what I thought was going to be a murder-mystery set in rural Sweden called Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson. Lots of accolades in various places for this including all sorts of Swedish literary awards. The premise is good: A rape/murder takes place on the same night as the assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme and then a second young woman disappears...followed some time later in the same little town by the attempted rape/murder of another woman and the murder of her husband. The policeman in charge of the investigation is the central character of the first third of the novel and then his son (who also becomes a policeman) is the central character of the second third, with the last part told from the point of view of a writer who grew up in the area, knows all these people from childhood, but has left for a life in Stockholm, and now returned to write all about the murders etc. If any of you have read this book I would be interested in your opinion. When I turned the last page I was pretty disappointed; it is a more a very long meditation in writing about the nature of guilt and assumptions about people we think we know than a good crime story or even a good novel.

Well that won’t get any of us to try it lol. 

[LindaHarris]

On 7/29/2024 at 3:40 PM, Hanahope said:

I read Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney, that a friend loaned me. It was pretty good, learned some new information about things that went on behind the scenes surrounding Jan 6 (for non-gopers). the last third of the book was devoted to the Jan 6 committee, and I already knew 90% of that info from reading the news and watching the hearings. the book did not delve into political policy or much of her history or her dad's. it primarily stuck to this topic. 

Mike Johnson had a significantly larger role in the pre-Jan 6 stuff than I knew before.  it makes me believe that the whole parade of "unacceptable" house speaker nominees and failed votes after Kevin was forced out was a big circus act to eventually elect the real nominee, Johnson. that was the plan all along.  They had to go through a whole bunch of completely far right people first in order to make johnson look more moderate. but he is just like jim jordan and the rest. Johnson is just quieter about it. he was always 100% a trump supporter as Liz makes very clear.

my only complaint about the book is her lack of follow up (or at least writing about it). for example, she writes about speaking with Paul Ryan, who is now on the Fox board, about doing a big series on the election and trump's misinformation about the results, after he lost all the court challenges.  before jan 6. she wrote that ryan/fox was totally on board with 'moving on' from trump and exposing that everything trump was saying was a huge lie and to save the party, they had to pull people away from the cliff edge of misinformation. she wrote that fox did apparently shoot this series (at least that is what she was told) and it was ready to broadcast, but at the last minute, it was shelved. she never explains why. she says she doesn't know why. well why didn't you ask paul ryan???

there were a few other instances of where she speaks to people about X, told things, but then when the opposite happens, she doesn't go back to that person and say, what happened? or at least she didn't write about it. so a lot of loose ends in that respect. Also I'm reading Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community because I have a course in socilogy and I need to imprve my skills, and because I'm really imteresred in such books. That one is not the easiest one to read, but it is interesting. And to be honest, sociology is very complex, and I need to dedicate a lot of effort. Some time ago I also found this site https://papersowl.com/blog/sociology-research-paper-outline, which provided me with some good information on how to write a sociology research paper, and it helped me a lot. I still can't say that I'm a pro, but I'm getting better and better.

I read this book some time ago, and I have the same thoughts as you. I liked it, but there were things that were definitely missing.

Now I'm reading The Forgotten 500 by Gregory A. Freeman, but it's hard to say something because I've read just 15 pages.

[sugarbaker design]

  Last October, while I was on a mini-vacation in Provincetown Massachusetts, I was perusing this used bookstore, I found a copy of Demon Copperhead for $5.  Of course, I snapped it up, and then while still perusing I found a $2 paperback of David Copperfield.  I thought it was fate and snapped that up also.  I read David Copperfield immediately, I read a lot on my train ride to work.  It took me two weeks to finish.  While I loved the book, it was so much.  So much institutional poverty, so much abuse, so much malice.  After that I found it hard to pick up Demon Copperhead.

  So months fly by, many crime fiction novels fly by.  Procedurals, gumshoes, dark Scandinavian Noir, a few cozies to break things up.  All provided by my local library, thankfully.  My library isn’t open on Saturdays during summer (I’m very cool with librarians getting Saturdays off during the summer.)  Now I have to rely on my TBR pile, and right on top is Demon Copperhead.  Barbara Kingsolver keeps the essential plot structure, moves it from Victorian Era England to modern day Appalachia with the Opioid Crisis as it’s backdrop. 

  Characters somewhat remain the same with clever name alterations:  Murdstone becomes Stoner, Creakle becomes Crickson, Uriah Heep becomes Ryan “U-haul” Pyles etc.  On of my favorite characters from the original, the vicious, vindictive Rosa Dartle becomes an equally vicious and vindictive Rose Dartell 

  I follow Demon (real name: Damon Fields) with his single mom, her subsequent marriage to Stoner, foster care first with Crickson, then with McCobb family (Micawber).  While Demon is suffering indirectly from the Opioid Crisis, I was wondering while reading it if he was ever going to suffer directly.  Then Demon is placed with Coach Winfield, starts playing football, is unfortunately injured, goes to a doctor where he gets a scrip of Oxy.  It quickly snowballs.

  Two hundred years later, still the same institutional poverty, still the same abuse, still the same malice.  It’s quite overwhelming.  Demon has the same ending as David, with it’s promise and hope, but it was a tough, yet such a rewarding read.  I just put it down 30 minutes ago, I have the perfect antidote resting on my TBR pile:  The Custom of The Country by Edith Wharton.

Edited August 28 by sugarbaker design

[Zella]

2 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

  Last October, while I was on a mini-vacation in Provincetown Massachusetts, I was perusing this used bookstore, I found a copy of Demon Copperhead for $5.  Of course, I snapped it up, and then while still perusing I found a $2 paperback of David Copperfield.  I thought it was fate and snapped that up also.  I read David Copperfield immediately, I read a lot on my train ride to work.  It took me two weeks to finish.  While I loved the book, it was so much.  So much institutional poverty, so much abuse, so much malice.  After that I found it hard to pick up Demon Copperhead.

  So months fly by, many crime fiction novels fly by.  Procedurals, gumshoes, dark Scandinavian Noir, a few cozies to break things up.  All provided by my local library, thankfully.  My library isn’t open on Saturdays during summer (I’m very cool with librarians getting Saturdays off during the summer.)  Now I have to rely on my TBR pile, and right on top is Demon Copperhead.  Barbara Kingsolver keeps the essential plot structure, moves it from Victorian Era England to modern day Appalachia with the Opioid Crisis as it’s backdrop. 

  Characters somewhat remain the same with clever name alterations:  Murdstone becomes Stoner, Creakle becomes Crickson, Uriah Heep becomes Ryan “U-haul” Pyles etc.  On of my favorite characters from the original, the vicious, vindictive Rosa Dartle becomes an equally vicious and vindictive Rose Dartell 

  I follow Demon (real name: Damon Fields) with his single mom, her subsequent marriage to Stoner, foster care first with Crickson, then with McCobb family (Micawber).  While Demon is suffering indirectly from the Opioid Crisis, I was wondering while reading it if he was ever going to suffer directly.  Then Demon is placed with Coach Winfield, starts playing football, is unfortunately injured, goes to a doctor where he gets a scrip of Oxy.  It quickly snowballs.

  Two hundred years later, still the same institutional poverty, still the same abuse, still the same malice.  It’s quite overwhelming.  Demon has the same ending as David, with it’s promise and hope, but it was a tough, yet such a rewarding read.  I just put it down 30 minutes ago, I have the perfect antidote resting on my TBR pile:  The Custom of The Country by Edith Wharton.

I keep wanting to read Demon Copperhead but not quite getting to it. I work in a library, and I have been noticing that, though it was released nearly 2 years ago, it still stays on hold constantly at our branch. It has had some considerable staying power. 

[Browncoat]

I've read nearly all of Kingsolver's works, and Demon Copperhead is near the top of the list of favorites of hers.  It is so well-written, and, because she's from that region, she is able to capture the voice so well.

[sugarbaker design]

12 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I've read nearly all of Kingsolver's works, and Demon Copperhead is near the top of the list of favorites of hers.  It is so well-written, and, because she's from that region, she is able to capture the voice so well.

So well, indeed!

[Zella]

33 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I've read nearly all of Kingsolver's works, and Demon Copperhead is near the top of the list of favorites of hers.  It is so well-written, and, because she's from that region, she is able to capture the voice so well.

The Poisonwood Bible remains one of my absolute favorite books. 

[EtheltoTillie]

23 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

  Last October, while I was on a mini-vacation in Provincetown Massachusetts, I was perusing this used bookstore, I found a copy of Demon Copperhead for $5.  Of course, I snapped it up, and then while still perusing I found a $2 paperback of David Copperfield.  I thought it was fate and snapped that up also.  I read David Copperfield immediately, I read a lot on my train ride to work.  It took me two weeks to finish.  While I loved the book, it was so much.  So much institutional poverty, so much abuse, so much malice.  After that I found it hard to pick up Demon Copperhead.

  So months fly by, many crime fiction novels fly by.  Procedurals, gumshoes, dark Scandinavian Noir, a few cozies to break things up.  All provided by my local library, thankfully.  My library isn’t open on Saturdays during summer (I’m very cool with librarians getting Saturdays off during the summer.)  Now I have to rely on my TBR pile, and right on top is Demon Copperhead.  Barbara Kingsolver keeps the essential plot structure, moves it from Victorian Era England to modern day Appalachia with the Opioid Crisis as it’s backdrop. 

  Characters somewhat remain the same with clever name alterations:  Murdstone becomes Stoner, Creakle becomes Crickson, Uriah Heep becomes Ryan “U-haul” Pyles etc.  On of my favorite characters from the original, the vicious, vindictive Rosa Dartle becomes an equally vicious and vindictive Rose Dartell 

  I follow Demon (real name: Damon Fields) with his single mom, her subsequent marriage to Stoner, foster care first with Crickson, then with McCobb family (Micawber).  While Demon is suffering indirectly from the Opioid Crisis, I was wondering while reading it if he was ever going to suffer directly.  Then Demon is placed with Coach Winfield, starts playing football, is unfortunately injured, goes to a doctor where he gets a scrip of Oxy.  It quickly snowballs.

  Two hundred years later, still the same institutional poverty, still the same abuse, still the same malice.  It’s quite overwhelming.  Demon has the same ending as David, with it’s promise and hope, but it was a tough, yet such a rewarding read.  I just put it down 30 minutes ago, I have the perfect antidote resting on my TBR pile:  The Custom of The Country by Edith Wharton.

Thanks for this. I have been reluctant to pick it up. I love how you were able to compare the two books so directly. 

[Listeria Bangs]

On 8/16/2024 at 5:14 AM, Anduin said:

Weird thing, these humans aren't on Earth. They have apparently never heard of Earth, but they have things like dogs and coffee. My suspicion is that their planet is one of those colonised during the second half of the Expanse novels. Once they overthrow the kidnapping aliens, they'll find the records of Earth and set off to visit, making this perhaps an interquel set between the last chapter and epilogue of the last novel. But given my track record with predictions, I'll probably be entirely wrong. :)

This is 100% my thinking as well. I can understand why they didn't bill it that way (yet?), but if this ends up being how we get more on the original gate builders/the wider galaxy, I'm all in.

(I did like it as a whole and will probably keep reading the series but it's absolutely a Book 1, so if that's something folks find frustrating I'd wait until there are more to pick them up.)

Edited September 14 by Listeria Bangs

[Anduin]

2 hours ago, Listeria Bangs said:

This is 100% my thinking as well. I can understand why they didn't bill it that way (yet?), but if this ends up being how we get more on the original gate builders/the wider galaxy, I'm all in.

(I did like it as a whole and will probably keep reading the series but it's absolutely a Book 1, so if that's something folks find frustrating I'd wait until there are more to pick them up.)

Yeah, it didn't do much for me. I might wait for reviews before going further.

[grommit2]

On 8/29/2024 at 8:39 AM, EtheltoTillie said:

Thanks for this. I have been reluctant to pick it up. I love how you were able to compare the two books so directly. 

Tim's Used Books...a small house near the center of town, absolutely packed to the doorknobs with books in multiple genres.

[isalicat]

I highly recommend a mind-bending twisty murder mystery called The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. I just finished this last night and it is a blast - incredibly inventive! Sort of a combination of an Agatha Christie locked room mystery coupled with several other genres. Can't wait to read his next book.

[sugarbaker design]

1 hour ago, grommit2 said:

Tim's Used Books...a small house near the center of town, absolutely packed to the doorknobs with books in multiple genres.

On the nosey!

[akiss]

12 hours ago, isalicat said:

I highly recommend a mind-bending twisty murder mystery called The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. I just finished this last night and it is a blast - incredibly inventive! Sort of a combination of an Agatha Christie locked room mystery coupled with several other genres. Can't wait to read his next book.

Different strokes, I guess. I didn’t like this one at all. I managed to make it to the end but not my cup of tea at all. 

[Spartan Girl]

Read Dear Hanna, Zoje Stage’s sequel to Baby Teeth.

Spoiler

Yeah Hanna us still a sociopath but I can’t believe Alex and Suzette were stupid enough to have another kid, especially after the ending of the first book where they all but admitted they were happier without kids and both resented the way parenthood changed them as a couple, which may have gone a long way in shaping what Hanna became (as opposed to her simply being born bad). But of course they had to have a new baby to prove they could be new parents, so it wasn’t a big surprise when the twist about the son dying could be seen coming a mile away…

Although…it’s left ambiguous whether or not Hanna was really responsible. Granted, she’s an unreliable narrator, but if she got blamed for the one thing she didn’t actually do, then that kind of sucks. Might have pushed Hanna beyond the point of no return.

 

[hypnotoad]

Quote

Thanks, I know. Now, I think I will treat myself one of these days with rereading classic Stephen King :D

I just started my Stephen King re-read and first time read. I'm going in order. I read all of his books when I wad a kid but right around Tommyknockers and Insomnia, I kind of got tired of his books. They seemed to get longer with worse endings. Since then, I've been a bit hit or miss on his books. And I've not read any Bachman books. i finished Carrie and I remembered very little about all the official investigation stuff! I'm almost done with 'Salems Lot and I am loving it. Next is Rage.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Well...started listening while on a road trip this weekend--J.D. Robb's Passions in Death. I'll probably read the rest. But I have to say, the following is my new favorite phrase of Eve's:

"Murder Face" The context in which she and Peabody discuss this, along with the unsolicited opinions of other uniforms, just cracked us up!

@DearEvette

[blackwing]

On 9/18/2024 at 4:09 PM, isalicat said:

I highly recommend a mind-bending twisty murder mystery called The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. I just finished this last night and it is a blast - incredibly inventive! Sort of a combination of an Agatha Christie locked room mystery coupled with several other genres. Can't wait to read his next book.

On 9/19/2024 at 4:24 AM, akiss said:

Different strokes, I guess. I didn’t like this one at all. I managed to make it to the end but not my cup of tea at all. 

I hated this book as well.  I felt like there were too many weird twists and that it was trying too hard.

 

Did anyone here read Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree?  It's set in a fantasy world.  The main character is a female orc barbarian who decides she doesn't want to be a warrior adventurer anymore.  So she retires and opens a coffee shop.  Coffee is new to the area and there are some trials and tribulations as she establishes her shop and meets a female love interest along the way.  It was a lot of fun, and I thought it was great seeing a fantasy book that was "slice of life" instead of just about questing and killing and finding treasure.

Well now I am reading this book called Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne.  I'm about halfway through... and it is a complete and utter ripoff of "Legends and Lattes".  A female warrior who is the private guard of the Queen decides she doesn't want to serve anymore.  But she's not allowed to quit.  She flees the castle, gathers up her girlfriend (a mage) and they settle down in some very remote village.  Where they decide... to open up a tea shop and bookstore.

I get that many books are derivative of each other, but this one is too on the nose.  A disillusioned warrior, a sapphic romance, opening a coffee/tea shop.  Above all, it is BORING.  There's none of the humor or charm of "Legends and Lattes".  I'm about halfway through and there really isn't much plot.  No central mystery, no impending event that is approaching.  Just two women who are going through life and in the process of opening a tea shop and bookstore.  I will give it a little more of a chance but this might be one of the few books that I will have to DNF.

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Did anyone here read Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree?  It's set in a fantasy world.  The main character is a female orc barbarian who decides she doesn't want to be a warrior adventurer anymore.  So she retires and opens a coffee shop.  Coffee is new to the area and there are some trials and tribulations as she establishes her shop and meets a female love interest along the way.  It was a lot of fun, and I thought it was great seeing a fantasy book that was "slice of life" instead of just about questing and killing and finding treasure.

I loved that book!  There's another one, as well -- sort of a prequel.  I am sorry to tell you I can't remember the title off the top of my head, but it has a similar vibe and heart.

[DearEvette]

On 9/23/2024 at 4:09 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Well...started listening while on a road trip this weekend--J.D. Robb's Passions in Death. I'll probably read the rest. But I have to say, the following is my new favorite phrase of Eve's:

"Murder Face" The context in which she and Peabody discuss this, along with the unsolicited opinions of other uniforms, just cracked us up!

@DearEvette

Oh wow is that the most recent one where the murder takes place at a Bachelorette party at the Down and DIrty?  I was looking forward to this because the call back potential is big given that Eve's own bachelorettte party was there.  I am like two In Deaths behind.  The last one I read was Payback in Death which was also call back heavy  to one my very personal favorites in the series, Treachery In Death.

 

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

Did anyone here read Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree?  It's set in a fantasy world.  The main character is a female orc barbarian who decides she doesn't want to be a warrior adventurer anymore.  So she retires and opens a coffee shop.  Coffee is new to the area and there are some trials and tribulations as she establishes her shop and meets a female love interest along the way.  It was a lot of fun, and I thought it was great seeing a fantasy book that was "slice of life" instead of just about questing and killing and finding treasure.

I loved this book. I call it a warm hug of a book.  I loved the found family aspect of it. And the constant updating of the menu as more more "novelties" (like what we know of as cookies and chocolate etc.) are introduced.

Right now I am reading Helen Harper's Firebrand series.  It is about a newly minted Detective constable who is murdered on the first day of her new posting and she wakes up in the morgue, alive and stronger.  It is part cozy mystery/part police procedural.  Feels very lightly reminiscent of Ben Aaronvich's Rivers of London series  in some areas. 

Part of the mystery in the series (beyond the case of the week) is figuring out what she is.  I just finished the third book in the series Midnight Smoke and it was fantastic. It is a time loop (aka Groundhog Day) where the main character Emma has the worst day at work, including several heartbreaking deaths. I love the way the author did this because the first do-over, Emma is excited and a little cocky and thinks she can fix everything but the changes she makes actually makes things just as bad in a different way. I really enjoyed the way the author unfolded the various do-overs it was fun and satisfying by the end.

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Oh wow is that the most recent one where the murder takes place at a Bachelorette party at the Down and DIrty?  I was looking forward to this because the call back potential is big given that Eve's own bachelorettte party was there.  I am like two In Deaths behind.  The last one I read was Payback in Death which was also call back heavy  to one my very personal favorites in the series, Treachery In Death.

Yes!

[Anduin]

I read Legends and Lattes too, though I didn't like it. Baldree is a good games designer, I'd like if he returned to games.

[blackwing]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I loved that book!  There's another one, as well -- sort of a prequel.  I am sorry to tell you I can't remember the title off the top of my head, but it has a similar vibe and heart.

Yes, Bookshops & Bonedust.  I read this one as well and liked it.

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I loved this book. I call it a warm hug of a book.  I loved the found family aspect of it. And the constant updating of the menu as more more "novelties" (like what we know of as cookies and chocolate etc.) are introduced.

The updating of the menu, the oddness and quirks of the ratkin character, the different personalities... these are the little things that I feel are missing in "Can't Spell Treason Without Tea".  

[Browncoat]

6 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Yes, Bookshops & Bonedust.  I read this one as well and liked it.

Thank you!  

[hypnotoad]

Quote

Did anyone here read Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree? 

We read it for book club. I'm generally not a fantasy fan but I really enjoyed the book. I loved the baker Thimble and the dire cat!

[isalicat]

I just discovered another marvelous mystery/crime writer - Jamie Harrison - and read the first of the "Jules Clement" novels called The Edge of the Crazies. It is set in a very small Montana town (Blue Deer) and is a real awesome slice of life with an incredible cast of characters and an excellent murder mystery. Not very violent or gruesome. I already have books two and three on the way!

[Calvada]

On 9/27/2024 at 2:22 PM, isalicat said:

I just discovered another marvelous mystery/crime writer - Jamie Harrison - and read the first of the "Jules Clement" novels called The Edge of the Crazies. It is set in a very small Montana town (Blue Deer) and is a real awesome slice of life with an incredible cast of characters and an excellent murder mystery. Not very violent or gruesome. I already have books two and three on the way!

Thanks for the recommendation.  I'm always looking for a new mystery writer.  A few authors I enjoyed have died in the past few years (Sue Grafton, Peter Robinson, Margaret Maron to name three) and some of my other favorites are getting up there in years.  Hey, just like me 🤣

Recent reads for me:  We Solve Murders by Richard Osman.  I enjoyed it, but missed the Thursday Murder Club group.  I was glad to read in the acknowledgments section that he plans another TMC book for next year.  I also read What's Next by Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack about the TV show The West Wing.  I'm in the middle of Griffin Dunne's memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club.  

[sugarbaker design]

On 9/27/2024 at 3:22 PM, isalicat said:

I just discovered another marvelous mystery/crime writer - Jamie Harrison - and read the first of the "Jules Clement" novels called The Edge of the Crazies. It is set in a very small Montana town (Blue Deer) and is a real awesome slice of life with an incredible cast of characters and an excellent murder mystery. Not very violent or gruesome. I already have books two and three on the way!

This is funny.  I was a big fan of these when they were first published in the late 90's.  A new novel has just come out, The River View, 24 years after the fourth book.

On 9/28/2024 at 10:23 PM, Calvada said:

I'm in the middle of Griffin Dunne's memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club.  

I'm looking forward to reading this.

[hypnotoad]

I finished Rage as part of my Stephen King re-read (or read if I had missed something before. I feel confident I didn't read any Bachman books) and I did not like it. Going to start The Shining next. Been a long time since I read it!

I'm also reading Mexican Gothic for book club. Has anyone read it? I'm having a tough time getting into it.

[sugarbaker design]

21 hours ago, hypnotoad said:

I'm also reading Mexican Gothic for book club. Has anyone read it? I'm having a tough time getting into it.

I read it a couple of years ago, I found it immensely readable. I just read Moreno-Garcia's Silver Nitrate, it was spookier than MG.

Good luck with The Shining! 

Edited October 3 by sugarbaker design

[hypnotoad]

Quote

I read it a couple of years ago, I found it immensely readable. I just read Moreno-Garcia's Silver Nitrate, it was spookier than MG.

Though I had a tough time getting into it, I ended up really liking it. I'm going to try Silver Nitrate. The Shining is as good as i remember!

[Rushmoras]

During my two-week vacation in Greece, had the time to finish re-reading Stephen King's Salem's Lot - book about a vampire and his thrall that come to a sleepy little town in order to feed and make more vampires. And started book two of James Clavell's Tai-Pan (actually, the original was just one long 800 or so pages book, but translator's in my country decided to cut the book in half).

Spoiler

Currently, malaria is prevalent in Honkong, Struan's brother and brother's daughter died, the land that they settled on became an object of Chinese triads raids, and Struan with Brock arranged marriage for Culum and Tess. Also, a mosquito bit Mei-Mei, so, I guess, she will die during childbirth as well...

 

[Danny Franks]

I just finished Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold, the second in his series about a private investigator in a fantasy world that has lost all its magic, so all the magical beings - elves, werewolves, gnomes, dragons etc - have become mortal and normal (to sometimes terrible results). It's good read, and a lot of fun despite the world being so dark.

Following up with something heavier, I started Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age by Tom Holland.

[isalicat]

I just finished a remarkable mystery/crime story novel from 2005 called Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Not only was the mystery quite incredibly well written, the overall prose of this book was exceptionally good. I cannot recommend it enough!!

[SusieQ]

On 10/17/2024 at 5:09 PM, isalicat said:

I just finished a remarkable mystery/crime story novel from 2005 called Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Not only was the mystery quite incredibly well written, the overall prose of this book was exceptionally good. I cannot recommend it enough!!

Kate Atkinson is one of my all time favorite authors. Case Histories is the first of 6 Ja ckson Brodie mysteries. I'm reading the latest one right now.

she also has written  a number of other stand alone novels. All excellent.

[Calvada]

I also really like Kate Atkinson.  She's one of my favorites.  

I'm about 100 pages into Michael Connelly's latest, The Waiting.  It's a Renee Ballard book, but Harry (and Maddie) Bosch appear in it.  Elly Griffith's collection of short stories, The Man In Black and other Stories, is waiting for me at the library, so that will be next.  

[EtheltoTillie]

Case Histories is really good.  Read it a while ago.  I'll be starting the Michael Connelly soon.  I read those every year. 

[JAYJAY1979]

I've been doing some re-reading of classics because I tend to find most modern day books are a bit too surface and lacking in detail/writing ability.

1)  I finished reading The Thorn Birds again.  700 pages does take a bit longer to read, but it was such a satisfying story.

2) I'm preparing to reread Gone with the Wind again.  I read that when i was 13 or 14, and I want to see what my thoughts are in my older years (40+ years old).

3) While reading Gone with the Wind, I'll be alternating between that and a new novel called The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak

[Mindthinkr]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Case Histories is really good.  Read it a while ago.  I'll be starting the Michael Connelly soon.  I read those every year. 

I just got my copy of The Waiting by Michael Connelly and will begin it as soon as I’m done with the last book in Preston and Childs trilogy on The Cabinet of Curiosities. It's called Angel of Vengeance. Normally I fly through P&C’s books, but this one isn’t gripping me. 

[supposebly]

I just finished Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

Years ago I read his A Wild Sheep Chase and Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

It's quite to different from those. But very beautiful.

[Browncoat]

I started "Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books" by Kirsten Miller last night.  I'm only about 40 pages in, and I have actually laughed out loud.  It's set in a small town in Georgia, and Lula Dean wants certain books banned from all the libraries in town.  She sets up an unofficial little library in her yard, and fills it with "wholesome" books, like cookbooks and etiquette guides.  In the first few pages, another character replaces all those wholesome books with banned books, but switches out dust covers, so at a glance, the books still all look like the ones Lula originally puts in.  So far, I love it.  It's a fluffy take on a serious subject.  Hopefully it's this good all the way to the end.

[Palimelon]

I'm hoping to start "Letters" by Oliver Sacks soon.

[Rushmoras]

Read through Part V of James Clavell's Tai-Pan.

Spoiler

My initial guess that Mei-Mei will die from malaria was only half correct. She did survive, but lost her baby. Part V dealt with Dirk Struan looking for an antidote against malaria, and finding it at the hands of Portugal priests. Also, Culum Struan was deceived by Gort, and almost developed a VD due to going to a whorehouse while drunk. Gort finds his end at the hands of triad assassin's though by the end of Part V; and Culum marries Tess Brock.

 

[krankydoodle]

I've turned to mysteries as a distraction. I gave up on The Author's Guide to Murder at about the 20% mark. The main characters were irritating and I didn't care enough about the story to continue. It's about 3 mystery authors who come together to write a book and stumble into a murder investigation where all become suspects. I haven't read any books by the authors (Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White) before but they're apparently pretty popular, so this was disappointing.

I'm having better luck so far with Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch about a pony trying to find and get revenge on the owner he thinks abandoned him. When she's accused of a 25-year-old murder that occurred around the same time as their separation when she was just a child, he gets involved in the investigation somehow.

[DearEvette]

I've been reading Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. 

It is really fun.  It is the first volume of a graphic novel collection of a series of stories that feature a group of neighborhood pets who investigate and solve paranormal crimes.  The human population have no clue at all about the strange goings on, but their dogs (and one orphan cat) have been busy saving the world.

It is a comedy/horror/mystery/action hybrid where the stories feel a bit like episodic tv.  Each story is a complete episode, but they all tie together in an overarching narrative.

The animals all have very interesting and distinct personalities and each story is just a little different in tone.  One of them is very Twilight Zone-esque. The art is great as well.

There are at least 4 volumes in all.