I just finished Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, a book that is sometimes referred to as “the great Australian novel.” It was amazing and unforgettable; I had trouble putting it down.
@NJTheatreMOM see if you can find a copy of Robert Drewe’s The Shark Net - written about the same period of Perth’s history but a nonfiction, coming of age story. It’s interesting to read the two and compare. I live near the bay where the characters in Cloudstreet would go to fish and swim.
^Thanks for the tip, Tiredofsnow!
Just finished Hell-Bent by Benjamin Lorr. It’s about the world of Bikram yoga. You don’t have to practice yoga (I do, but not Bikram) or even know anything about it to enjoy this book. The author is funny and witty and it’s about his experience with the charismatic, narcissistic, nutty cult leader that is Bikram.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/books/review/hell-bent-by-benjamin-lorr.html?referer=
I was on the road this week for over 10 hours. I spent a great deal of it listening to the 3rd Gamache book. One thing I noticed more than usual was how much she well and how often she describes the food they all eat. Options on the road weren’t the best, which is probably why I was more attuned to the mouth watering images Louise Penny evokes so well with her writing.
@scout59 - I finally got to Blacked-eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin. I finished it in 3 days once I finally opened it. I highly recommend it if someone wants a mystery/ suspense book. Thanks for the recommendation.
@psychmomma , I hear you. I felt the same way.
I went to Amazon review and read all the reviewers who didn’t like the book. It was funny. Many people complained about the things I felt but didn’t have guts to admit. (how can people stick around this self-destructing guy so long? how is it possible that all four friends became super successful in NYC? how can all the long distant truck drivers be pedophiles? etc. etc.)
I’m pretty sure someone mentioned “Defending Jacob”. I enjoyed it. Law & Order meets “We Need To Talk About Kevin”.
I liked it better than “The Girl on the Train”.
@FallGirl , I will check out “The Widow”. (I’m 254th in line at the local library!!)
@mom60 – so glad you liked “Black-Eyed Susans.” I really liked it too!
I haven’t read anything noteworthy in a while. I tried “See How Small” by Scott Blackwood and “My Sunshine Away” by M.O. Walsh, both of which were recommended to me and both of which left me feeling…meh. “My Sunshine Away” started out strong but then came the ending.
I also read the latest Robert Crais book which was good, but not one of his best. I’m starting “Did You Ever Have a Family?” tonight and I’m hoping for the best!
I have the Bill Clegg book in my pile @Scout59, and will be interested to know what you think. I just started spill, simmer, falter, wither (lower case) by Sara Baume, which has got a lot of attention in the UK as an outstanding debut and is starting to be noticed here.
Traveling in a few weeks–flight is about 6 hours and I’m looking for light reading. I’ll read almost anything–I don’t really sleep on planes–I doze off once I start reading. Only genre I’m not crazy about is science fiction.
It’s been awhile ago that I read “Defending Jacob” but I enjoyed it and thought it would make a good movie also.
@bookmama22 …Warner Bros. bought rights to Defending Jacob and it is “in development” and slated to open in 2018…no word on cast yet…
I’ve been enjoying a series of books set in the Regency Era, Jane Austen with magic. The first book was a little too much like a love note to Austen, but in the next ones she takes the characters overseas into thriller territory. She deliberately only uses language that existed in the 18th century which can be irritating - especially when she goes with 18th century spellings. Author is Mary Robinette Kowal - first book is Glamour in Glass.
I’m alsorecently finished the two Persepolis graphic novels and Reading Lolita in Tehran an interesting pairing which the CC book club will be discussing next month.
For those Ferrante fans -
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/books/who-is-elena-ferrante-an-educated-guess-causes-a-stir.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad
An article in an Italian newspaper suggested that a professor in Naples is the author of the popular novels, who writes under a pseudonym. She denied the report.
Interesting! Thanks SouthJerseyChessMom
The commentary and discussion re A Little Life (which I loved/hated) is lively and fascinating on both the Tournament of Books site and the Goodreads ToB group.
I just finished The Tsar of Love and Techno (Anthony Marra, who wrote A Constellation of Vital Phenomena). Wow.
@jaylynn, did you read A Constellation of Vital Phenomena too? if so, which book did you think was better?
I follow Hilary Mantel on Facebook, and she posted a rave for this book today, The North Water by Ian McGuire. Either she is being paid a ton for her endorsement or she really likes it 
either way, it sounds interesting and I ordered a copy.
@NJTheatreMOM , I liked Tsar better. Both with luminous prose, but Tsar had more hope and in parts was quite funny. It also had a very interesting structure (connected stories, done well).