Meant to say put it in my queue. Dang.
I usually have a fiction and a non-fiction book that I read at the same time, plus I joined a book club (just for syits and giggles), so Iām reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline for fiction (I love it, and the audio version I listen to on the way in to school read by Wil Wheaton is fab), the non fiction is Where You Go Is Not Who Youāll Be by Frank Bruni (itās like the anti-College Confidential), and the book club just read The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out A Window And Disappeared.
Itās translated from Swedish and I felt there was some fidelity lost from the original-I wasnāt a fan. But wow, loving Ernest Clineās stuff. The funniest thing about Ready Player One is when I read the paper version I hear Wil Wheaton in my head :D.
I really liked āReady Player Oneā, canāt wait for the movie. 
I just finished āBecoming Steve Jobsā. It was much more interesting than I expected it to be.
Also just read āDancerā by Colum McCann ā it is a fictionalized version of Rudolph Nureyevās life, hung on the framework of the facts (early life, dancing with the Kirov, defecting, his life in the West). A lot of it told from the perspective of his family and teachers back in Russia. I admit I skipped ahead a couple of times (one right near the beginning) in sections that didnāt seem important to the story, and still donāt now that I am done ā but it was beautiful written and I found it pretty compelling. I donāt usually love McCann (found āLet the Great World Spinā to be a bit dull and plotless to be honest). But this suited his style. I love great ballet ā first time I ever saw the ballet it was the Kirov when I was in my 20s, and I am spoiled for life ā I only go when the very top companies are touring or I am someplace where they are performing. Obviously I never saw him ā but wish I could have.
Currently in the middle of āCountdown to Zeroā about the Stuxnet attack that damaged the centrifuges in Iran. It is on the techy side ā I might not like it if I didnāt know anything about computers. But it is pretty interesting if you have at least a rudimentary knowledge. It is pretty cat and mouse, and I like the description of the Symantec guys as they dig through the code and figure out that this is not your average hack ā it is aimed at sabotage, not just espionage. It might make a good gift to the techy in your life.
@bookworm a couple months ago, after reading all the love for Louise. Penny, I read the first and second books back to back. I liked the second one a bit more than the first.
Just finished āMy name is Lucy Bartonā -my first by Strout, although I saw HBO version of Olive Kitteridge.
Lucy Barton is a very quick read, like watching rocks skim the surface of a smooth, but deceptively deep lake,I think this would be an excellent book, for book clubs- those who like, and Iām sure those who do not like this book I liked it,
Just finished Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. A little disappointed - sweet book, but I didnāt have as much empathy for the main characters as I have with other books. It was a quick poolside read.
Also finished Nectar in a Sieve. Really enjoyed it. Haunting, esp having been to rural India in the past year.
I read āThe Lonely Passion of Judith Hearneā for my book club. Itās an oldie. Iām Irish Catholic and Iām sure than enhanced my appreciation of the story. Iām not sure it would be as compellingfor someone who isnāt from that background. For me it was amazingāan extraordinary book about a very ordinary, lonely life. It made me think of the lines in the Beatles āEleanor Rigby.ā
I also read āDevil in the White City,ā which isnāt new either. I liked it a lot.
Has anyone read Ta-Nehisi Coatesā book, Between the World and Me? Iām about a third through it, and itās given me a lot of food for thought.
Itās on my night stand. Waiting for a time when I can focus on it fully. Iāve heard itās superb and a must-read.
Interesting, katliamom, because once I started reading it I had to keep stopping to think. Thatās why Iām only on page 48. I do a lot of work in the schools, and the beginning of the book has just left me so depressed that I had to take a break.
Tastes are so different. I liked the Steve Jobs book, but didnāt like The 100 y o man who climbed out a window. I did like Devil in white city. We read Nightingale, and now Iām interested in reading about the real escape route over the Pyrennes. Someone in my book club read that nonfiction, and it added to the conversation.
Warning: SPOILERS
Agree. In the movie, she comes off better because she realizes that she has overly romanticized her homecoming. Mrs. Kellyās confrontation reminds her of what she actually did leave behind in Ireland that she didnāt like at all. Once she clears her head of her romantic notions of the life she could have in Ireland, she does remember/realize that she actually loves Tony. She surprises him with her arrival back in Brooklyn, and they are both happy to see each other. In the book, it seems she only returns because she got caught. She doesnāt seem happy to return, only resigned to it.
I loved the movie. The book, not as much.
Everyone I know IRL is blow away by Between the World and Me. If you arenāt familiar with his Atlantic essays, there are also really amazing.
I agree with your analysis of the book and the movie, nrdsb4, but for that very reason I actually preferred the book to the movie by a wide margin (though I actually loved both).
I actually thought the book was a very subtle and deep look about how certain people make decisions (or, more accurately, let other people make decisions for them).
Just finished A Man Called Ove. Thank you all for recommending!
(Though I am in no shape to go off to work nowā¦)
The Paris Architect.
Home from a relaxing vacation and so I had time to begin the Neapolitan novels series by Elena Ferrante, loved Book 1, āMy Brilliant Friendā and will quickly get Books 2 and 3. I also finally caught up to āLet the Great World Spinā which I thought was outstanding. Also read āThe Anatomy Lessonā not as good but I enjoyed the discussion of the actual Rembrandt painting and conservation of the painting but not so much the fictionalized story about the making of the painting.
@bookmama22, there are actually FOUR Ferrante books! As a huge fan, I appreciate hearing that others love these novels.
Yes I know that there are now 4 Ferrante novels but the new one is just published in hardcover. There is also going to be a mini-series in Italian on Italian TV.. hope someday it will come here with subtitles.
I just finished The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer and really enjoyed it. It fits in the suspense/thriller category, and doesnāt seem special at first blush, but it earns its stripes with some beautiful writing. I hope someone else has read it, because Iād love to engage in a little side discussion.
I also loved My Name is Lucy Barton. So much conveyed in so few words! The book is still with me a couple of weeks laterāitās downright haunting.
Euphoria- Lily King - engaging story