My daughters and I love The Secret History. My older daughter said she thinks Donna Tartt won the Pulitzer for The Goldfinch not because it was the best book of the year (2014) but because the committee realized she should have won for The Secret History.
Hah! I was completely wrong about the mystery!
The Last Painting of Sara De Vos - the next selection for CC book discussion Oct 1st
The Race for Paris by Meg Clayton. The story of a photographer and a journalist trying to be the first to reach Occupied Paris & report on the Alliesâ entrance to the city.
Loosely based on real events, it was an interesting look on how differently male and female journalists were treated by the military during WWII. The men were respected, the women, not so much.
Some asides on real photogs/journos of the time - I didnât know Hemmingwayâs wife at the time was a photographer.
Iâm reading The Gilded Hour, set in 1883. Really good book and the parallels of social issues to those of today are interesting. Womens rights, reproductive rights, immigrants, need for social nets, crime and race relations. I think a lot of you would really enjoy it.
^^ Itâs kind of depressing how far we havenât come. 
In reality, we have come tremendously far, although we still have a ways to go. 
Ok so here is what Iâm taking on my cruse. Not that I will read all four but I want to have choices.
Crossing to Safety (based on mentions here)
The Royal We (basically well-written fanfic for Anglophiles; Iâve read it before and itâs delicious)
After James, by Michael Helm. (I picked it up in a bookstore based on the blurb.)
The Nest, by Cynthia DâAprix Sweeney (If Amy Poehler likes it, Iâm willing to take a chance on âthe juicy and dysfunctional Plumb familyâ.)
I liked (but didnât love) The Secret History. Tried to read Tarttâs second book (canât remember the name) but found it painfully slow and torturous. Did not even attempt to read Goldfinch. I read for enjoyment and find Donna Tarttâs wrting to be too much work to read.
I am currently reading Fates and Traitors by Jennifer Chiaverini which is fictional novel about John Wilkes Boothâs life. Finding it quite interesting.
I didnât read âThe Little Friendâ, her other book (probably the one you tried). I would say I liked âThe Secret Historyâ better than âThe Goldfinchâ â so maybe you made the right choice in not trying âThe Goldfinchâ.
For a different point of view, I loved the Goldfinch and thought the Secret History was just okay.
I loved The Goldfinch and The Little Friend and remember reading The Secret History on a long car ride, unable to look up from the book. @LasMa, I really enjoyed âThe Nestâ, and I agree that Amy Poehler is a reasonable arbiter of taste! I just finished Ann Patchettâs newest, Commonwealth, which I enjoyed very much. Now reading The Gloaming, which I saw reviewed in the NY Times and am having a hard time putting that one down. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/books/review/melanie-finns-second-novel-the-gloaming-is-winning-widespread-praise.html?_r=0
My daughter and I saw âA Man Called Oveâ in the theater today. In Swedish, with English subtitles. I wasnât at all sure it would translate well to the screen, but the director did an admirable job. Well worth seeing.
Ooh I saw that review of The Gloaming and it made me really want to read it.
Has anyone read The Nix by Nathan Hill?
Finished listening to Mr Mercedes last night. Enjoyable read!
For those ferrrante fans
Todayâs NY times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/books/elena-ferrante-anita-raja-domenico-starnone.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad
[quote]
An investigative journalist said financial and real estate records indicate that the Italian translator Anita Raja is behind the best-selling author of four novels set in Naples.[/qupte]
@SouthJerseyChessMom I did see this and am upset that she is being outed against her will. Iâm sure she had good reasons for trying to stay anonymous. Iâm betting that she drew heavily on incidents from her own life and the lives of people around her, and that there will be fallout for her and others because of this violation of privacy.
Just because we CAN track someone down doesnât make it right.
The 2016 fall books Iâve read (or are reading) have been amazing so far:
The Wonder (Emma Donoghue). âRoomâ was recent and lauded (rightly) but sheâs great at historical fiction too (âSlammerkinâ is really good). This one is wow.
Mischling (Affinity Kozarâgreat name). Brutal but amazing.
Commonwealth (Ann Patchett). Getting amazing reviews from people I respect and itâll be up next.
New Tana French tomorrow (insert excited noise)!!!
Thanks jaylynn! Been in a reading slump lately â too addicted to political podcasts â and Iâm hoping all the A-list books coming out this fall will get me back into the reading groove.