Psychmom let us know what you think when you finish.
I just finished Stoner by John Williams, published almost 50 years ago but on manyās favorite lists for 2013, when it became a bestseller for the first time. I read a review of it several months ago, Iām not sure if itās been mentioned in this thread or not, ordered it from Amazon and just reached it in my āto readā pile a couple of weeks ago. Itās a beautifully written story of a man who becomes a career academic. This was one of my favorite comments about the book, and I am in full agreement.
Iāve just added The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal, the Power of the Elite, and the Corruption of Our Great Universities by William Cohan to my list. At 600 pages, Iāll be at it for a while.
Working on buying some paperbacks to bring with me on my honeymoon for the plane and the beach.. I bought the first flavia de luce book and I got The Invention of Wings in hardcover since I couldnāt find it in paperback and KNEW I wanted to read it next. Iād like to get one more but Iām not sure what to get. I was thinking of getting a Joshilyn Jackson book, I think I only read A Grown Up Kind of Pretty, but I remembered some were popular here and some not so much and I donāt remember which were which. I am afraid of carting a bunch of books with me and not liking any of them. I was looking at the Thirteenth Tale but that didnāt seem like a great honeymoon read. I donāt really pay that much attention at the beach, but I still want a page turner.
Am I the only one that hates bringing kindle to the beach? It gets really hot and it just seems like it must be terrible for it, not to mention the risk of getting it wet or sandy. If I put it in a protective cover the cover gets condensation on it and it gets the kindle wet anyway.
Iām currently reading Life After Life and that would probably be perfect, but I already started it and am not willing to wait for the tripā¦
Has any one read Canadian Louise Pennyās Inspector Gamache series? I am really enjoying them. Love her character development and descriptions. Fun thriller/mystery and good writing.
Me! I love Gamache! Canāt wait for the next oneā¦ and wish I could live in Three Pines.
Emaheevul, have you read Beautiful Ruins or Rules of Civility? I know we have read a lot of the same books and I canāt remember without searching back. I looked at my Audible list and I obviously tend towards darker books so I donāt have many to recommend for a honeymoon. My favorite beach book author is Carl Hiaasen. Love his sense of humor.
@Emaheevul07-- If youāre loving Life After Life (I adored it), try another Kate Atkinson. The Jackson Brodie series (should be read in order, start with Case Histories) is very enjoyable. Theyāre a totally different genre than Life After Life (and a bit more ābeachyā), but written in the the same felicitous style. I think Joshilyn Jacksonās stuff has a cotton candy qualityātasty enough while youāre reading, but quickly forgotten after you close the book. (And FWIW, I hated The Thirteenth Tale.) Happy honeymoon!
@Bromfield2 Thanks for the Amaldur Indridason recommendation! Heās become one of my favorites. Iām working my way through the Erlender series now and requested his other book from interlibrary loan. 
Thereās something about those gloomy Nordic landscapes (both natural and psychological) that fascinate me.
My husband is a mystery fan and loves the Gamache series! Another Canadian author who writes great mysteries is Linwood Barclay.
You donāt have to be a mystery fan to love the Gamache series, though (or Flavia De Luce). They are the only two mystery series I really read (okay, Laurie Kingās Russell and Holmes, too). But that is about it. I think all three of those series have better character development than the average mystery books, that is why I like them.
Looks like Iām going to have to give either the Gamache or the Flavia De Luce series a try. My favorite series writer is Robert Crais and Iāve read all heās written.
Has anyone read anything by L.E. Modesitt, Jr? I just finished āThe One-Eyed Manā, which I picked up from the new fiction table at our library. Fairly hard core sci-fi, but I liked it enough to give something else by him a try. But he has written so many books (over 50, both fantasy and sci-fi) ā no obvious award winners, so I am not sure where to start. If anyone has a suggestion, I would welcome it.
I just read The Nazi Officerās Wife and really enjoyed it. She did a good job with it and at times I could really feel how incredibly terrifed she was at times.
I just finished listening to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Wow. I know itās supposed to be one of the best books ever everyone just about lists in among their all-time favorites but really, it was just an almost neverending story. I enjoyed the description of the times, but other than that, it was just average IMO.
^ I didnāt read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn until I was an adult, and I felt exactly the same way when I did! I thought it was just meā¦ 
Just started The Martian. Early on it has my attention.
Just read Orphan Train and really enjoyed it. Currently reading Boys in the Boat about the 1936 US Olympic Rowing Teamā¦so far, so goodā¦for all of you with rowers you might find this a good read!
Re: Modesitt I kind of liked the series about the opera singer from this world whose talents arenāt good enough to make her a star here, but enable her to work her magic in another world. (Spellsong Cycle) My sons and dh read the Recluce books and liked them at first and then felt they got repetative. I never tried any of the sci-fi books though I know that at least some of the Ecolatin books were checked out of the library and read.
For fantasy, my youngest son has become a Brandon Sanderson fan, so weāve all been reading them so we have things to talk about. I have mixed feelings about them. Some Iāve liked very much, but his magical systems are so complicated and I often get bored by the explanations. His whole ācosmereā concept just irritates me.
Iām taking a break from Sandersonās latest book (Words of Radiance) which I am about a quarter of the way through, to read Amistead Maupinās latest. Itās like a breath for fresh air!
I think that Beautiful Ruins was one if the worst (boring) books I read in 2013.
Louise Penny is one of my absolute favorite authors. The Beautiful Mystery is phenomenal. Donna Leonās Brunetti series has such a sense of place; you feel as though you live in Venice.
Ema, if you want sweet books, light and easy for a vacation or honeymoon, give Sarah Addison Allen a try. Gods In Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson is terrific. You might also like the books written by Susanna Kearsley. Well-researched fiction with some of the woo-woo factor as well as history. There are three that go together - The Winter Sea and The Shadow Horses, followed by The Firebird.
I just ordered Armistead Maupinās latest and canāt wait for it to arrive. I have loved all of his books, and especially the Tales of the City series. Iām a little sad that this will be the final one.