Book Lovers Club
Comments
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I just finished "The Girl Who Lived" by Christopher Greyson. It is a murder thriller and I was engaged thru out the entire book. My list of suspects was long and I kept dismissing them and adding them back on the list.
The main character is a 22 year old woman who was traumatized by a brutal multiple murder the day before her 13th birthday. Sometimes the storyline was a little unbelievable, but it worked..I mean, how much could this young girl handle psychologically? You will find out.
Recommend. Free on my Kindle.
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Snicker..I did like Crawdads. I found it an easy read with few characters and a fairly straightforward plot line. I like Kya, the main character even though the story line about a small child living alone in the marsh was a bit of a stretch. To my delight, there are now more stories about young girls coming of age and admit that I am willing to put aside some story flaws to hear those stories. A couple more are
How the García Girls Lost Their Accents byJulia Alvarez
The hate you give by Angie Thomas
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I got a book on the Vikings for Christmas from hubby and our furbabies.
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Hi all and Happy New Year!
I just wanted to pop in and tell you how much I appreciate your posts. I have been trying to make a commitment to read more often and your recommendations have definitely helped me stay on track! I cannot read a book or watch a movie, if it does not grab me pretty quickly. I read, "Still Alice" the past few days. Easy read and great insights. I look forward to many more:). I have a small library just a few blocks away from me, so no excuses!
Hi Ruthbru! I don't know if you remember meeting in SA a few yrs ago...I hope you are doing well.
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Of course I remember!!
I am doing great, except I need to lose about 5 Christmas pounds.0 -
What better way than to start the new year with a column written by Geoff Dyer. A real treat! Hope my book lover friends enjoy this book lover’s writing as much as I do
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Oh VR - that was wonderful Makes me feel less guilt about stacks & shelves of 'saved' books. Thanks for sharing.
"Buying books and not reading them – or waiting to read them – is a form of hoarding, similar to picking up and hanging on to something because it might one day come in handy, but a book is always both more and less than handy: potentially life-changing and, at the same time, quite useless."
Hope this link about Lee Child's Jack Reacher works for your DH. Thought of him when I found this in my December Atlantic (which I still want to call The Atlantic Monthly). https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/jack-reacher-lee-child/573922/
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If I was to read a John Reacher book, which one would you recommend?
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keep the faith, I really enjoyed Still Alice. I have several more books by that author on my list.
Just finished Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. Was a very nice read. Not sure what I will read next.
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I have so many books on my Kindle to read but I end up looking at the Amazon store and I find more! I can't help it!
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pat01, yes, Still Alice was an easy enjoyable book. I had it done in two sittings, which is unusual for me.
I read The Storyteller also. For some reason, I like books that relate to Historical events and that had me putting the pieces together along the way!
I checked out "Nightingale" at the library the other day, and so far, I am still turning pages...
I have read a couple of "political" books last year, but they were kind of disappointing. Joe Bidens' book, "Promise me, Dad" and James Comeys', "A Higher Loyalty". Neither really something I would recommend. I found myself skipping through pages. Too many details about things that I didn't really care to think about or that I could relate to and understand. JB's was better mainly because of the human aspect of it.
I'm looking forward to other recommendations!
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minus....just shared the atlantic’s link with DH! I know how dated one feels when they don’t refer to names correctly or keep up with fashion’s do’s and don’ts...ahh. Nothng dates us more than keeping up with fashion. The olden days....The Atlantic Monthly. That’s an easy name to forget....but fashion....oy!...you reminded me of a recent converstion with a friend who called to ask if she should wear nylons....errrrr.....pantyhose to a function......my reply? Absolutely not! The only people who wear stockings nowaday is the Royal Family! She hadn’t realized that one only wears Spanx. Spanx were invented by one, smart, woman....who got the brilliant idea of trimming stockings to the thigh and Voila! And....NO Matchy Matchy! No matching shoes and pocketbooks, or bags, or whatever! AND ABSOLUTELY NO SETS OF JEWELRY! Don’t match earrings and necklaces! I wish fashion was as easy as remembering...The Atlantic....
And back to Reacher...whenever Child was in town pitching his book I ask the DH if he wants to meet him...the curmurdgeon reader said, “”I would rather not meet him. I am satisfied with just reading his books. And, heaven forbid if I meet him and find I dislike him, I might never read another one of his books!”
That said....Dyer’s newest book is due in February...Hopefully, he will swing by NY for an event and you know who will be there
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Hi SandiBeach, I would recommend starting with the first Jack Reacher book, Killing Floor. That will introduce you to the character, explain some of his military background and why he travels and lives off the grid. After that, I don't think subsequent books have to be read in order. Some are military adventures and introduce his former comrades. Others feature Reacher coming into a small town and running into trouble. The character treats women very well, respectfully and as colleagues. I hope you enjoy the series.
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Thank you MarilynIllinois! Great suggestion!
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VR - meeting authors - yes it's a mixed bag. I LOVED Louise Penny and John LesCroart and Michael Connolly. I thought Sara Paretsky was boring because she just read from her latest book - and I was surprised I found her boring.
i agree about the Reacher books. Start with Killing Floor then jump around however you choose.
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minus....tell me about Lescroart! The DH thinks he is the best writer of that genre. He doesn’t publish as often as the rest. The DH finds his books the most detailedand exciting.
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I REALLY like Lescroart. Very approachable as a person but also philosophical. I think classified as legal thrillers but NOT true crime. Police Lt best friend of attorney (sometimes defending & sometimes prosecuting & sometimes bar tending) so there's legal issues & that mind set along with police issues & that mind set - and how they rub together, or not. Part crime solving & part courtroom thriller. The details about their families & friends are believable. As time goes on the families become friends, they change jobs, retire, etc. He's known for realism and great characterization. I've seen reviews that rate him well above Grisham and Turow. Since I'm originally from the San Francisco area I also dearly love reading about the locale, the restaurants and even the politics.
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Jenkins - oh thank goodness I'm not the only one who loads up the Kindle with books!! I have tons of "samples" and then I can't ever decide what to read. I also have Kindle Unlimited but I don't find many books on it that I want to read.
Pat01 - I read Still Alice and enjoyed it. The author has written some other good books, too. As for Eleanor Olliphant - I got about midway through and stopped reading. I just got annoyed with her character and wasn't getting any enjoyment out of it. We were just up in your neck of the woods for Christmas - one daughter in Franklin and another north of Boston. We used to live in CT.
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I’m halfway through The Private Lives of the Tudors
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Hello all!
I am a retired public librarian that loves talking about books. For non-fiction, Red Notice by Bill Browder. It has to do with the Magnitsky Act and how powerful Russia and Putin are these days. Kind of political, but really helps to understand the current situation with Putin being very interested in the Trump family. Also, Dopesick by Beth Macey is a well written breakdown of our current opioid situation. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Gann is a very interesting book about Indians in Oklahoma being killed for the mineral rights to their land. A bit of history not taught in school.
I do enjoy fiction, mainly historical or literary character driven books. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee takes place in Japan and is about a Korean family dealing with discrimination. Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin takes place on a South Carolina beach and is a wonderful mystery/coming of age story. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles has to do with a man hiding in a Russian hotel and goes into interesting detail about Russian history and social life.
I do read daily especially during chemo! I could not live without my books. I also love to share good titles with others and learn from other readers.
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JCS - welcome. Always glad to have more members here and new recommendations. Killers of the Flower Moon has been on my list for awhile.
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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5537002/
Killers of the Flower Moon....I am waiting for the film.....Keeping my fingers crossed it will be made...
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I loved Killers of the Flower Moon!
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What a wealth of knowledge! I have little to offer but would love your assistance. I am starting a book club that is for therapy. I am a social worker on a First Nation Community. I prefer fiction, but with themes addressing depression, suicide, First Nation issues (preferably Canadian). Will definitely look into Killers of the Flower Moon though. Books with uplifting or hopeful endings preferred. Something that has really moved you. Basically any hardship like poverty, etc also that highlights the strength of the human spirit. Thanks in advance.
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Hi TB90, best wishes for your new book club. I hope the group enjoys the club.
My book club read and had a great discussion of Forty Autumns by Nina Willner. It is nonfiction. It's the story of a family separated by the Berlin Wall and living in East Germany for 40 years. Some of the family escape to West Germany, others remain in East Germany. When the wall comes down they are reunited. It's a mixture of history and family strength and resiIience.
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TB90, lots of great books and ideas shared on this thread. May your book club be everything the group wants. I just finished Educated by Tara Westover and if you are looking for overcoming hardship and individual resilience then this book fits those criteria. The Google book review summary says a great deal "Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag..." I look forward to hearing more as your book club selects titles, etc.
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TBD90
You should look into any of the titles by Louise Erdrich. She writes mainly books with First Nation characters and themes. Not sure if the are Canadian, but First Nation for sure. Good luck with the book club.
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Thank you all so very much. This was like having my own personal library. I have been struggling to select a book and it never dawned on me to approach BCO. The knowledge on this board is amazing. I will let you know what we start with and report back.
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JCS - Erdrich was my first thought too.
I just finished Robert Goolrick's A Reliable Wife. This would certainly satisfy your themes - depression, suicide, drugs, sex. You never know exactly what's going to happen but there's a sort of redemption at the end. Don't want to put out any spoilers. Set mainly in 1907 in the wilds of Wisconsin where everyone works in the town's only factory and the winter never ends and everyone goes a little crazy sometimes.
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minus...I read A Reliable Wife....thought it was like something Poe would write....
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