I also recently read The Emperor of Gladness and, while I finished it and while his writing is beautiful, I found it hideously depressing. Ah well. To each his own.
I just finished Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, for a book club. At 661 pages, it’s not for the faint of heart. I wound up liking it, but boy does she go off on tangents. It could have been cut by at least 100 pages, if not more.
And I hated the only other book of his I read that I will probably never try another one. ( On earth we’re briefly gorgeous.) Very poetic but it felt so pointless.
I just finished Tana French’s Faithful Place. It is the third of her Dublin Murder series. I really enjoyed it. I thought it is my favorite that I have read of hers. I am reading the series in order on the recommendation of my DD. I do think that I will have to read something lighter before I start the next book club selection.
I just finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, which is the CC Bookclub selection for February. It’s a fast read which I really enjoyed and I think will have a fun discussion if you are interested in picking it up.
Has anyone here read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig? D recommended it - I am a long wait list for this at the library. A friend got the audio book and really liked it.
I enjoyed it!
I liked it a lot. It’s a bit magical realism or speculative fiction I guess.
I am one of the few who didn’t like it. I don’t like fantasy. I started off not knowing this (and it was kind of slow at the beginning for me), but when it switched to fantasy near the middle, I closed the book and said done.
That was also a “did not finish” for me. Life is too short …
I read it all but didn’t like it as much as I thought I would - and I do like fantasy, metaverses, sliding doors, etc etc 
It felt a bit.. pointless??? Unsatisfying?
I’d say that about 1/4 in you’ll know if it’s for you or not. 
I liked it, but it did get a bit tedious. Some in my book club did not like it.
A sweet read (pun might be intended): Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford. From the book jacket: An unforgettable heroine comes of old age in this huge hearted story of lifelong love, unexpected stardom and good food.
Found it to be a nice book to kick of the new year and brought back my own childhood kitchen memories and how I treasure the recipe cards (stains and all) from my mother and grandmother. I still think about how a good friend told me that her dad typed up all his mom/her grandmother’s recipes and made them into a cookbook for all the grandkids. As much as they appreciated the effort - he threw away all the recipe cards with her handwriting and notes. 
It was very good!
One of the few “real” books I enjoyed.
FYI: The Correspondent Kindle book is on sale for $1.99 today!
Thanks! just bought it.
Because I’d enjoyed A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumbar, I bought her earlier book, A Burning. It’s the story of a girl in India who is a accused of a terrorist act and the stories of two other people who can help in her defense (and whose aspirations may be affected should they help.) If you like being taken to a different world when you read, this book is for you. The author does a great job of developing the setting and the characters. It is, however, a dark story. Still, definitely recommend!
I’m often a little behind on the “best current” books out there - probably because I rely mostly on library/libby book sources.
I just finished How To Read A Book by Monica Wood. I have to say, this one plus The Correspondent really left me with impressions not to leave me too soon. I don’t know if I’ve read this author before but her acknowledgments alone were interesting and touching - I want to be her!
A good read if you haven’t.
I just finished the Correspondent. Love it so much!
The Heartbeat Library by Laura Imai Messina was my first book of 2026, and I LOVED it. Beautiful story.