Book Lovers Club
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Still reading the book on the Salem Witch Trials and half way through "Liar Temptress Soldier Spy". Once either one of them are done I've got Ready Player One by Ernest Cline to read.
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Finished Liar Temptress Soldier Spy earlier. Went back to the Salem With Trials book.
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Tomboy - was it you who recommended Kris Radish? I seem to remember you talking about Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral some time ago. I'm now reading The Elegant Gathering of White Snows and it's marvelous.
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Just finished Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One"
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Just finished Peter May's Runaway. Really enjoyed it. I had read The Lewis Trilogy and enjoyed it, so I've started looking for other books by him.
In 1965, five teenage friends fled Glasgow for London to pursue their dream of musical stardom. Yet before year's end three returned, and returned damaged. In 2015, a brutal murder forces those three men, now in their sixties, to journey back to London and finally confront the dark truth they have run from for five decades.
If you like fast-paced, can't-put-it-down, in the style of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you may want to try I'm Traveling Alone by Samuel Bjork.
From a bold new voice in international crime fiction, a chilling debut in which two detectives must hunt down a vengeful killer--and uncover the secret that ties each of them to the crime
A six-year-old girl is found in the Norwegian countryside, hanging lifeless from a tree with a jump rope around her neck. She is dressed in strange doll's clothes. Around her neck is an airline tag that says "I'm traveling alone."A special homicide unit in Oslo re-opens with veteran police investigator Holger Munch at the helm. Holger's first step is to persuade the brilliant but haunted investigator Mia Krüger to come back to the squad--she's been living on an isolated island, overcome by memories of her past. When Mia views a photograph of the crime scene and spots the number "1" carved into the dead girl's fingernail, she knows this is only the beginning. She'll soon discover that six years earlier, an infant girl was abducted from a nearby maternity ward. The baby was never found. Could this new killer have something to do with the missing child, or with the reclusive Christian sect hidden in the nearby woods?
Now starting After You by JoJo Moyes.
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ok, not the kind of book we are supposed to be discussing here - but I will just say READ Being Mortal by Atul Gawande - a warm, heartfelt - easy to read book about a doctor's quest to improve the practice of medicine.
I can easily lose myself in the world(s) created by Robin Hobb - having finished the 4 books in the Rain Wilds Chronicles - I figured I had to go back to her earlier series which seem to take place in different parts of the same mythical world. so I read Assassin's Apprentice ....and am looking for the sequel.
Having read and enjoyed The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag, I was thrilled to see another of her books at the library - The Dress Shop of Dreams - if you enjoy magical realism - you will like this author. The story moves right along - you know that everything is going to turn out right for everyone, but you don't know how it will happen til the very end.
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Jel..I read Gawande's book and most of his other books as well. I love his writing. I recall him writing about becoming a writer as well as a physician. I find it so fascinating that he is both a fantastic writer and a physician. Talk about winning a jackpot. I guess those who enjoy reading his books luck out too! Years ago, Andrew Weill, MD, also wrote a memorable book about aging. He shared his thoughts about his mother's long life which really made an impression on me and it is that kind of life I hope to live as I age. Since my mom is 90 3/4, I hope I'm on track to one day get to be her age! Tonight I was talking to her and she was stressing about all the things she had to do tomorrow. I told her to quit stressing about all the things she thinks she needs to do and said, all she needs to do is wake up in the morning! The rest of the day people will be around her to help her enjoy the day. What a life!
Haven't been reading much lately. My eyes haven't been kind to me. In fact, after I met my Literacy student this morning, I stuck around the non fiction section in the library and waited for my opthalmologist to show up...which he did and so I showed him my eyes. Despite having tubes in my tear ducts, my eyes are severely dry which ultimately causes eye strain. Ugh. Hope to get my game back soon. I just get stressed over looking at my books and being unable to read them....
On that note...happy reading dear friends! And if you start feeling guilty about reading more than you should, just tell yourself you are reading a few extra pages for me!👩❤️💋👩
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jel...we need more books written by physicians about ethics and mortality. As I age, philosophy books have been gaining importance in my life. Another physician author who has touched a nerve with me is Otis Brawley....
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Jelson & VR - I loved Being Mortal. I love Gawande. In fact my 45 yr old son who originally recommended him to me, finally ended up kidding me that "my boyfriend" had another article/book/appearance/whatever. On top of everything else, Gawande seems to have appealed to every one I know from 20-80. When I've had to pick replacement docs, whether they've read him is one of my criteria.
VR - sorry about your eyes. I can't think of any thing more frustrating or frightening for a reader.
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VR, how about books on tape? I know it is not as much fun as READING the book yourself, but better than nothing.
*I have been reading a bunch of history books, probably would not be interesting to anyone but fellow history nerds!
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Book lovers....don't worry...I'm still reading....but lighter works...and not as voraciously....
Ruth. . . speaking of history books...the hilarious history writer, Sarah Vowell is out with her latest book! She is the best!
Minus....lol! And I'm sure you can guess who my "boyfriend" is! Meanwhile, regarding your "boyfriend".... you better watch out because your " boyfriend" has lots of "girlfriends"... My girlfriend is a big fan of your " boyfriend" too!😇
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Read Being Mortal too. Great book. Just picked up When Breath becomes Air at the library, will be starting that after I finish After You.
Glad you are still able to read, VR!
Ruth: I read a couple of WWII books recently,, and have more on my list. What era are you reading?
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I am reading stuff about the First Ladies......I am giving a talk about them this summer & need to bone up.
VR, thanks for the Sarah Vowell tip. I love her!
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Sounds interesting, Ruth. Any particular First Lady that you find especially fascinating?
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Oh goodness.....I would have to write a long, long, long post as they are all interesting in their own way. Ask me about someone and I will tell you something you might not know about her!
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Mrs. Truman
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Bess & Harry met in Sunday School when they were 5 & 6 years old. He fell in love with her right then and never fell out. Her dad committed suicide when she was 18, which is one of the reasons why she liked to keep her private life PRIVATE. Her mom was very snobby and never felt that Harry was good enough for her daughter 5because her family was well-to-do and his wasn't. 'Mother Wallace' lived until 1952 and never changed her mind (even when Harry became president). She was also an unreconstructed southerner. On her first visit to the White House, when they told her she would have the honor of sleeping in the Lincoln bedroom, her response was, "I am NOT sleeping in that man's bed!" And she didn't! Bess was very athletic as a girl. She won many tennis tournaments and was a great baseball player while in her teens. She had a good, dry sense of humor. One day after they retired, Harry walked into a room to find Bess burning a bunch of their letters to each other. "Don't do that," he said,"think of history." To which she replied, "I am!"
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I love this!! Awesome! I had the honor of visiting the Truman library a few years back, and loved it.
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Love the story about Harry & Bess Truman's great American road trip in Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure. "On June 19, 1953, Harry Truman got up early, packed the trunk of his Chrysler New Yorker, and did something no other ex-president has done before or since: he hit the road. No Secret Service protection. No traveling press. Just Harry and his high school sweetheart Bess, off to visit old friends, take in a Broadway play, celebrate their wedding anniversary in the Big Apple..."
Minus, I wasn't first but did rec Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish, who BTW lives in Wisconsin.
VR, very frustrating indeed. I haven't read in over a month due to packing & moving & unpacking. Picked up a 'found' paperback this afternoon (Michael Connelly's City of Bones, a Harry Bosch from 2002), read a few pages, and promptly fell asleep. Nice nap though. :-)
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OH, that sounds GREAT, Badger. Will go looking for that book.
When visited the Harry Truman library, I learned that after leaving the White House, Truman used to take walks around town every day. Apparently there was no Secret Service for ex-presidents until after Kennedy's assassination. So he was just the older guy in a hat strolling around town.
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badger!!!!!! I recommended the Truman excellent adventure years ago and it is still among my favorite books! What about when Bess sends him up to the attic for the luggage???!!!!! Here is the man who gave the order to bomb Japan and his wife makes him get and put away the luggage!!!! I also loved how they just stopped into the diner! What a kinder, gentler time in history or was it????🤔
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having had such a terrible week, and no one seems to want my 2nd accidentally bought anne of green gables, I'm re0reading it for the hundredth time myself
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Abigail sorry you're having such a terrible week. I loved Anne and still hope to visit PEI one day.
VR my mom LOVED Harry Truman (Eisenhower was Pres when I was born so I don't really remember HST). She also loved the book and so did her book club. She of course didn't get the ref to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure but that's OK.
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Abigail....so sorry to hear this past week hasn't been one of your better weeks. I hope the week ahead is kinder....
Badge....ahhh....our family has a small connection to Truman....my maternal grandfather looked exactly like him! So much so that when he walked the streets of Manhattan, strangers would mistake him for the President and approach him and ask to shake his hand! Eerily, they died two days apart in 1972. Today, one of his great grandsons, my younger son lives in Missouri...Another sweet thing I learned about Truman is Bess used to kick him out of their house and tell him to find something to do....soooo....once his library opened, he used to head over there before his staff would arrive. It wasn't uncommon for him to answer the phone at the library before the staff arrived. He would often give callers directions to the library. He also could be found greeting visitors as they arrived! 😇
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has anyone heard of Louise Rennison? I hadn't until I read an article noting her death in February. She was a comedic British actress and writer, most famous for her young adult series about Georgia Nicholson - whose antics appear to have followed her own while growing up in Leeds and New Zealand. I emailed my young adult librarian cousin who confirmed what a great and popular author she was, so I checked out the first in the series from the library - and just finished it. Georgia has been compared to Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole - but Georgia is normal and Adrian is an idiot (though totally worth reading!!). I enjoyed Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging. A lot of laughs and some shudders - as you would expect when reading from view point of a 14 year old girl. Here is an excerpt from an article about Louise Rennison:
"When a publisher approached Rennison about writing a book about a teenage girl's diary, she asked why her, and was told, "Well, we read your article and we thought it was so self-obsessed and so childish that you could really do a good job."
Rennison based her protagonist, Georgia, and her experiences on her own 14-year-old self. "I wrote the book to make myself laugh," Rennison wrote. "I always wrote what I remembered making me laugh when I was that age. I didn't attempt to teach. I didn't attempt to do anything except I wanted Georgia to be a decent person. I wanted her to be someone who is a bit stupid and self-obsessed and difficult and funny and rude, and a bit jealous, and all those other things. But I wanted her to have a good heart.""
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A few weeks ago I read, My Name is Lucy Barton in one sitting. One would think that VR loved the book so much that she couldn't put the book down until finishing it. I know the book critics praised it, but it looks to me like readers were only lukewarm about the novel. My local library will be doing a discussion on it and I think I will attend hoping to understand what people are getting out of it. Honestly, I must be in a trance because it left me hollow....I spoke to my popular author cousin about the book. She loved it and said Strout's writing was superb. Okay. I just felt like she was working too hard at trying to make the sentences important. And the Chrysler Building? Yeah, I find the building magnetic and draw emotion from just staring at it. But Strout's analogues? Please.
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VR - interesting. I haven't read this one but have very much liked Strout. However I have friends who are left totally cold by any of her books. Will wait for your further reviews.
Been reading Ken Follett's Fall of Giants. I learned tons about WWII in school, but my knowledge of the first WW is sort of hazy. Since this follows families in England, Wales, Germany, Russia, the US and other places, the issues that concern each country & these families are clearly juxtaposed. A good story but all the while I kept thinking, gee - these are many of the same places where there are still similar troubles and it's 100 years later.
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Halfway thru The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. Librarian recommended it. Written in first person, and the character, Don, is basically Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. It's really cute,,, love reading how his mind thinks. If you want a light, cute read,, I would recommend this. I'm loving it so far.
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glennie....I read The Rosie Project too! I know, our fellow book lovers must be shocked that I have read a few fiction books...I also read The Rosie Effect. VR's mother, VR II, also read both books at the recommendation of one of VR's cousins. Bottom line.. VR was curious to see how a person on the autism spectrum was portrayed because one of VR's cousins has Aspergers. That said, VR was less than thrilled about the books because they glamorize the character. With respect to getting into the mind of a person who has Aspergers, in my cousin's situation, I don't think he understands, nor appreciates how much pain he causes in the lives of his loved ones. Reading the books, I was trying to understand how the character could understand his missteps in socialization because most people who have Aspergers cannot do that, nor can they reflect on what it is that they are doing that causes pain to other loved ones.....
I'm starting to feel like Debbie Downer when it comes to reading fiction....and Minus, it warms VR's heart to know that other readers are cold to Strout's writing...
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Because it had been so highly acclaimed, a couple years ago I picked Strout's Olive Kitteridge as my choice for a Book Club to read. None of us could figure out what the big deal was.......
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