Book Lovers Club
Comments
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I have no idea if it is any good, but it looked intriguing to me.
Once I was in an antique story and found a book from 1901 called 'The Illustrious Life of Our Beloved President McKinley'......it was written shortly after his assassination and was reminiscent of the books written after President Kennedy's death......fascinating to see an event in history through those living the moment.
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Ruth! Tch,tch! Reading a book for yourself like that! Ha! Made me laugh! You guys are all really amazing to me, I must start reading more!
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Voraciousreader thank you for the link, enjoyed reading about Lucy Wood and never knew there was magic realism (meaning per Wikipedia: Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is literature, painting, and film that, while encompassing a range of subtly different concepts, share in common an acceptance of magic in the rational world.) Matthew Strecher defines magic realism as "what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe. Opened my eyes and feel a bit sheepish that I did not know Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende are held within that genre. I do enjoy learning and thank you.
Ruth, enjoying the Mourning Lincoln discussion and you have this fiction lover perked.
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Ruth - I totally agree in Belle Cora. I too do not like the main character. Perhaps it's supposed to be a reflection onher hard life making her that way. And the book is long. I'm not finished yet and had to put it down for a break.
So, my break is reading American Sniper. I'm about half way through it. I had wanted to like it, as I am so grateful to our military soldiers and in my mind, I put Seals and other special forces on a high pedestal for bravery and all that they do for us. However, I've been disappointed with hearing the reality described about that some soldiers just enjoy killing. I wanted to hear that they did not want to do it, and only did it out of necessity. But that's not the truth, at least for some. I know that the military works their minds over so that fighting becomes muscle memory, to keep our troops safer and without panic in a terrible situation. And I can't imagine the things our military personnel have seen and endured. I guess I wanted the book to be more philosophical about it, or a prettier reality. My Sheltered little corner over here... I'll keep going with it though.
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Lilac...Until recently, I hadn't known about the genre either! Now I don't feel so stupid since you hadn't heard of it either....😇 I feel much, much better now....
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For all of you lovers of Rachel Joyce's first book, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye, her new book about Queenie is wonderful. Don't miss The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey.
Eric Topol,MD's latest book, The Patient Will See You Now is great! Using his last book, The Creative Destruction of Medicine, as a spring board, he continues to use his wonderful crystal ball to explain how the delivery of medicine is changes. Don't blink because by the time you read this, changes will have unfolded..
Emperor of All Maladies will make its way to PBS FINALLY! It premiers March 30! Check your local listing.
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VR, I enjoyed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye by Rachel Joyce and thanks for the heads up on The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey. I've had Perfect (by Joyce) in my Kindle waiting to be read . Have you read it? Glad we both feel better now.
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Lilac..Haven't read Perfect.....will try to get to it! I had heard that Harold might be brought to the big screen...have you heard of any buzz? Heard Where'd you go Bernadette might get to the big screen as well. Looks like Brain on Fire will DEFINITELY translate on film!
Whew!
Ruth.....I'm surprised that none of Eric Larson's books are made into films.....hmmmmm
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Hopefully he is very picky about who he will sell them to!
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....how about a mash up of all of his books on screen...wouldn't that be awesome?????
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Badger: I did enjoy Mountaintop School For Dogs. Not sure who rescued who,, which is generally the story in the rescue world! The pit bull part was sad; my last pit bull had been rescued from a fighting ring and he had scars on his face and missing ear flaps. So that was hard for me to read. Overall a very nice read.Now. I have Jonathan Kellerman's latest,, MOTIVE. Can you believe this is the 30th book of the series???
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Wow - I read Kellerman's first book when it first came out - and all others since. Really hard to believe it's book # 30.
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I know!! I've read them all too.0 -
There's a new Mystery Writers of America Cookbook out. Going to check this out next time I'm in my favorite Indie mystery book store.
Hard-boiled breakfasts, thrilling entrees, cozy desserts, and more -- this illustrated cookbook features more than 100 recipes from legendary mystery authors. Whether you're planning a sinister dinner party or whipping up some comfort food perfect for a day of writing, you'll find plenty to savor in this cunning collection. Full-color photography is featured throughout, along with mischievous sidebars revealing the links between food and foul play. Contributors include Lee Child, Mary Higgins Clark, Harlan Coben, Nelson DeMille, Gillian Flynn, Sue Grafton, Charlaine Harris, James Patterson, Louise Penny, Scott Turow, and many more.
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I thought this paragraph by Nick Hathaway in The Guardian about Terry Pratchett's death was most thought provoking. "...Tolstoy's elegant lie...." Hmmm.
"We have a curious relationship with funny in the UK. We love to laugh, but we also think that making people laugh is just a little bit second-tier, especially in a literary context. We're not actually a gloomy, introspective bunch, but we somehow aspire to be. We do have a local written heritage of doomed beauty, and we bathe in it – Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke under fire in the trenches, Keats dying consumptively, Byron brooding and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet almost wilfully mooning their way to the grave – but to be honest, I blame Tolstoy. The opening line of Anna Karenina shaped our modern understanding of the profound: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." It's utter nonsense. Happiness is boundlessly weird. Other people's choices often seem to delight them, where I would run screaming. But Tolstoy's elegant lie has settled in our minds, and now we believe that joy is endlessly and easily duplicated and therefore cheap, whereas sorrow possesses a uniqueness that makes it worthy of study. Pratchett was pert with his detractors: "Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one." He might have said the same thing about a sense of humour, and that two-fisted partisanship, the willingness to hit back at an occasionally superior response to his work, made him kin to much of his audience, who had to defend their reading choices – especially in the 80s, before the 90s geek revolution made our obsessions cool – against charges of meaninglessness or childishness."0 -
minus....WOW!
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I just finished Mourning Lincoln by Martha Hodes. If you wonder what people of a different time (1865) thought about love, family, religion, death, war, race, politics.....life.......then you will find this very, very interesting. The author takes the diaries, letters, journals, personal remembrances from ordinary people from both the north and south to reflect on their lives, and specifically how the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, affected both individuals and the nation. A side note from me, Jacqueline Kennedy modeled her husband's funeral after Lincoln's; so from everything I remember and have seen replayed over the years; I felt could really see, hear, and feel Lincoln's funeral as it was being described.
In the case of 'great minds think alike', the lady in my Book Club, whose turn it was to choose the next book, has picked Dead Wake!Whoo Hoo! I can get started reading & talking about it right away without being accused of premature articulation!
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Ruth, so glad someone posted here - a week is too long a time for this thread to languish. I have been reading but not posting. Just started one that I hope will be worthy to share. PREMATURE ARTICULATION - too funny - thanks for the laughs.
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I've been reading every day, just no 'new' books to share. Today I finished an old Tony Hillerman book called Coyote Waits. I'd forgotten how much I like his books. Seems to me I might have read the recent one by his daughter written after his death, but it must not have impressed me that much. I lived in New Mexico for 7 years in the late 60's & early 70's and this made me remember how much I liked the high country & the desert. I thought about returning for retirement but friends have told me the city has changed beyond belief.
Thanks to whoever it was who recommended Vicki Delaney. I'm enjoying her books set in BC.
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Another oldie but goody - Steve Martini Undue Influence from 1994. This is a fantastic courtroom novel. There are so many twists & turns that even when you figure out a piece of the solution that turns out to be right it just leads to something else. Honestly didn't see the final answer until the last few pages - after the case was dismissed & celebrations with the accused were over. It's got everything - a state legislator, FBI, witness protection, DEA, grand jury, vindictive cop... I haven't read one of his books in a long time but will keep my eyes out for more.
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I enjoy Steve Martini's books. He has a new one coming out in May, The Enemy Inside, and a novella, The Second Man, coming out this month.
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Just finished Remember Me by Lesley Pearce. It's not a new book but it's a good one. From the back cover:
Mary Broad is just eighteen when, in desperate poverty, she steals a silk hat and is sentenced to death. Given a last-minute reprieve, she sets sail with a hundred other convicts for Australia, a new colony on the other side of the world. Courage and determination are Mary's only assets. Faced with the horrific conditions on board and the unknown terrors of her strange new home, she makes a vow: she will survive, whatever it takes. Based on a true story, Remember Me is one of the most gripping and moving tales of human endeavor you will ever read.
p.s. it's this thread's 5th birthday. ((Elizabeth)) we still miss you.
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John Sandford has a new PREY novel out this month,, and Elizabeth George has a new Lynley novel out too,, but only the Kindle version will be released this month,, the book form won't be released until Oct. Dang it!
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Happy Birthday to us! And thank you, Elizabeth, Queen of the Readers!
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Badger - thanks for remembering the B-day. Hooray.
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5 years...how bittersweet!
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Thanks for the recommendation on 'The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey." I loved the earlier Harold Frye book and am enthralled with "Miss Queenie." Also wasn't aware of the new Elizabeth George book--thanks!
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Thank you Konakat - still miss you! S.
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Just finished Michael Sears' 3rd book, Long Way Down. If you haven't read him yet, I would recommend his books.The first one is Black Fridays. Jason Stafford is a former Wall Street hotshot who made some bad moves, paid the price with two years in prison, and is now trying to put his life back together. He’s unemployable, until an investment firm asks him to look into possible problems left by a junior trader who died recently in an accident. What he discovers is big – there are problems, all right, the kind that get you killed. But it’s not his only concern. Stafford has another quest as well: to reclaim his five-year-old son, “the Kid,” from his unstable ex-wife, and then learn just what it means to make a life with him. The things Stafford discovers about himself in the process are every bit as gripping as his investigation, and when the two threads of his life come together – the results are unforgettable.
His son is autistic and part of the story is how he deals with him. My nephew is also autistic so I find it particularly interesting.
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