Yes… I find I have a lot of anxiety if I don’t have at least two books “on deck” when I finish another one (literally – I don’t sleep well!). I like to have two just in case the first one I pick up is a disappointment and I want to move on. Most people don’t understand this, but I bet you guys do. 
Has anyone read My Life in Middlemarch? Just heard an interview with the author, Rebecca Mead. Made me want to reread Middlemarch and then read Mead’s book. Mead says Middlemarch is a bible for life.
@alwaysamom - ok I am sold. Going to get a copy of The Thirteenth Tale. Sounds intriguing.
Tom, the Ian Rankin Rebus series is wonderful. I have also heard good things about the Malcolm Fox books, but I haven’t read them myself. His most recent book brings them together working on a cold case; I am in line at the library!
Emaheevul07, she uses that technique in all of her books - a character in the present solves the mysteries and discovers the secrets of the past. I have grown fond of it. I am nearing the end of Riverton House and will be sorry to come to the end.
Okay, this is for shellz. My apologies for using up so much posting space. If you click on any of the links, don’t read past the first post or two unless you have already read the book, because we’re all about the spoilers.
If I were recovering from surgery, I would want something entertaining and/or intriguing, but not depressing or requiring an extraordinary amount of focus. With that in mind, these titles might help the time pass quickly: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Thirteenth Tale, The Help, The Forgotten Garden, State of Wonder and Before I Go to Sleep. They represent varying degrees of literary quality, but in each case, I read the book quickly and enjoyed the story.
2009:
<a href=“CC June Summer Book Club Selection - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/722812-cc-june-summer-book-club-selection.html</a> (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/739173-dreamers-day-july-cc-summer-book-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/739173-dreamers-day-july-cc-summer-book-selection.html</a>
<a href=“Sarahs Key August CC Summer Book Selection - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/756770-sarah-s-key-august-cc-summer-book-selection.html</a>
<a href=“American Wife October CC Book Club Selection - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/775489-american-wife-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/802971-thirteenth-tale-december-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/802971-thirteenth-tale-december-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
2010:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/839908-help-february-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/839908-help-february-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/874004-shadow-wind-april-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/874004-shadow-wind-april-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/921062-elegance-hedgehog-june-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/921062-elegance-hedgehog-june-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/950434-let-great-world-spin-august-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/950434-let-great-world-spin-august-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/983235-cutting-stone-october-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/983235-cutting-stone-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1017662-moonstone-december-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1017662-moonstone-december-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
2011:
<a href=“Major Pettigrews Last Stand February CC Book Club Selection - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1051496-major-pettigrew-s-last-stand-february-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1088114-water-elephants-april-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1088114-water-elephants-april-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1128229-hotel-corner-bitter-sweet-june-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1128229-hotel-corner-bitter-sweet-june-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1164259-secret-garden-forgotten-garden-august-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1164259-secret-garden-forgotten-garden-august-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1196045-state-wonder-october-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1196045-state-wonder-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1227061-before-i-go-sleep-december-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1227061-before-i-go-sleep-december-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
2012:
<a href=“11/22/63 February CC Book Club Selection - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1258379-11-22-63-february-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1289690-bridge-san-luis-rey-april-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1289690-bridge-san-luis-rey-april-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1324495-cat-s-table-june-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1324495-cat-s-table-june-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1354603-wide-sargasso-sea-jane-eyre-august-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1354603-wide-sargasso-sea-jane-eyre-august-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“Cloud Atlas October CC Book Club Selection - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1378606-cloud-atlas-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1403248-glass-room-december-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1403248-glass-room-december-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
2013:
<a href=“Possession February CC Book Club Selection - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1429935-possession-february-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1461744-orchardist-april-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1461744-orchardist-april-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1491359-things-fall-apart-june-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1491359-things-fall-apart-june-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1516433-stockholm-octavo-august-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1516433-stockholm-octavo-august-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1541379-war-worlds-ender-s-game-october-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1541379-war-worlds-ender-s-game-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1563943-dear-life--december-cc-book-club-selection-p1.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1563943-dear-life--december-cc-book-club-selection-p1.html</a>
2014:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1590899-the-luminaries-february-cc-book-club-selection-p1.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1590899-the-luminaries-february-cc-book-club-selection-p1.html</a>
^ Hmmm. In the past whenever I have copied the book club links, they have shown up with the titles of the threads and not that http stuff. I blame it on the CC “remodeling.”
Mary13…you are so kind!! I am going to have so much fun making my book que! I’ve read some of your suggested books, except the last two. Based on your like of the other books, I think I’ll enjoy the last two as well. I feel like a kid at Christmas…lots of great presents await in everyone’s wonderful suggestions!
Bromfield–when I get the chance and find it in the library, I definitely want to read that book. Middlemarch is my favorite novel.
Thanks GoldenWest. I will start Rankin’s Knots and Crosses after I finish The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly.
Thank you, Mary13! I just added many of those books to my list at the library. I won’t be running out of books to read for a while!
just starting Stil Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen…always like her writing
Finished The Shifting Fog (Riverton House) last night and it just may have become my favorite Kate Morton books. It sneaked up on me. Will I start The Thirteenth Tale or The Invention of Wings next? So hard to choose among so many excellent recommendations.
Selden Edwards: The Little Book, followed by his sequel The Lost Prince.
Incredibly rich writing spanning multiple decades, with lots of time spent circa 1897 in Vienna and Boston to WW1. Lots of Freud/Jung/ Willaim James stuff. I hestitate to tell you this is sort of a time travel book, because I hate time travel books. But, technically, there is some.
I am nearing the end of Forgotten Garden and it is getting really, really good. I think I figured out part of the mystery early and I am loving that she is still finding ways to surprise me and keep me enthralled even though I am starting to figure it out-- and I still wonder if I know as much as I think I do! I won’t know until the end. What an incredibly rich story. Looking forward to reading the Riverton House one next. I hope she writes more. I think I will be a better writer having read her books.. she really knows how to spin a story. So very many layers to peel back.. I love it. I think I am at like 85% on my kindle so I will probably finish it in a day or two.
Lately I can’t seem to read for more than a half hour without falling asleep no matter how interesting the book is, and it is really frustrating me!
I’ve started The Thirteenth Tale and really enjoying it. Emaheevul, it reminds me of Morton’s books. Mysteries and secrets of the past will be revealed. As usual, I am listening to the book and the narrators are excellent. They really add to the enjoyment of the book.
I’ve recently finished Rules of Civility. While I enjoyed it, it didn’t knock my socks off as it did for so many of you. Perhaps because I’ve never even been to New York, and that world is totally outside my experience?
OTOH, Zeitoun was terrific. Thanks to all who recommended it. It’s haunting.
I recently finished House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. It is a new Sherlock Holmes novel and is, by far, the best attempt at writing like Conan Doyle that I’ve seen. The story is as fast-paced as the originals, has as many interesting and intelligent twists and is fittingly horrifying.
Just read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Thank you @onward for the recommendation. I loved it!
I’m reading The Goldfinch now. Love it, love it, love it.
The CC Book Club discussed The Forgotten Garden, The Thirteenth Tale, and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I’ve included the links to the discussions for those of you just finishing those books. Good discussions but beware of spoilers: don’t jump into one if you haven’t finished the book.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1164259-secret-garden-forgotten-garden-august-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1164259-secret-garden-forgotten-garden-august-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/802971-thirteenth-tale-december-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/802971-thirteenth-tale-december-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1128229-hotel-corner-bitter-sweet-june-cc-book-club-selection.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1128229-hotel-corner-bitter-sweet-june-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>