This might provide a few ideas for those looking for their next selection: <a href=“Chick Lit Vs. Lit Chicks - Great Books Written By Women”>http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/reviews/chick-lit-versus-lit-chicks-great-novel</a>
LasMa and psychmomma, thanks for recommending Wonder–what a powerful book! I had recently read Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett, and the two books are quite interesting to read together.
We liked Hotel..Bitter & Sweet so much, we decided to read Snow Falling on Cedars, dave guterson. The latter is is a about the Japanese immigrants near Puget Sound.
The author of Hotel was very special in person. He spent the day at a local private school and spoke to different classes of children and faculty & parents. I look forward to his next book.
I read Snow Falling on Cedars many years ago. Excellent book. “Hotel” is on my list but I keep putting books ahead of it. Just started A Land More Kind than Home. Having grown up outside a very small town in southern Virginia, I am relating to it. The narrator sounds like she could be a family member.
Jamie Ford’s second novel Songs of Willow Frost came out September 2013. I haven’t read it so can’t recommend it - or not.
cartera - I finished “A Land more Kind than Home” yesterday. Unfortunately, the book started to bog down in the middle, plot-wise, but the writing was still beautiful.
I read Catcher in the Rye for the first time and I loved it!!
I read Songs of Willow Frost. It was interesting plot and set in the same environment of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet but not as good. I read it in advance reading copy from the publisher that I picked up at a conference. For me it would be a book to borrow from the library or read in ebook from the library, not a book I’d necessarily want to own.
I am catching up to a lot of older books. Just finished Gone Girl and Defending Jacob, both were good reads. The film version of Gone Girl is due for release this fall.
Reading the Fault of the Stars at my daughter’s request. Pretty moving.
I know you all talked about Louise Penny and her Armand Gamache series before, but I want to add that I too, loved this series, which I listened to on audiobook. The reader is terrific, and it got me past all the French names I don’t know how to pronounce. Also, I wanted to make you aware that her publisher is sponsoring a Gamache Virtual Book Club at gamacheseries dot com. They are discussing all the books online, in order, in preparation for the release of the new one in August.
I just finished The Rosie Project. It is just plain sweet. I loved it.
A new Gamache book in August? Hooray!
VaBluebird…I’m big fan of Big Bang Theory…and reading the Rosie Project…my mind had Sheldon Cooper as the narrator…loved it!
A sequel to The Rosie Project comes out on Sept. 24 of this year (expected publication date). Title - The Rosie Effect. Rosie is pregnant.
Gosmom…yes! Sheldon though at times I also saw Sherlock of “Elementary”. Sweet, nonetheless.
I just finished A Land More Kind than Home and really enjoyed it. I thought it was in two parts and was really disappointed when it was over because I thought I was only half way through. I didn’t think it bogged down at all. I hung on every word.
Shyparent- I just finished Truth and Beauty based on your mention of Wonder/T&B as interesting together. Yes - very interesting to read them back to back. I thought Ann Patchett’s name sounded familiar, but I didn’t look her up before reading T&B. Finally, at some point while reading, her most famous book was mentioned and the lightbulb went off - I loved that book - 10+ years ago - and hadn’t thought to read anything else of hers since. Now I think I’m going to find another of her books to read.
I’m now reading The Orphan Train and enjoying it.
cartera45 - glad you liked “A Land More Kind than Home.” I’m now reading another book recommended by the people responsible for the Lariat Lists - it’s “Edge of Dark Water” by Joe R. Lansdale. I’m a big Lansdale fan (he has such a distinctive voice) but this one is exceptionally good!
Thanks for the Lansdale recommendation. I took a look at the Times book review of it and it looks like my kind of book.