One of the best books I've read in the last 6 months is .

Parent Cafe
7486

Hi @scout59. Nice to see you here again.

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7487

I didnā€™t think Arkady Martine could top her first book, the sequel, An Empire called Desolation, might be even better. She isnā€™t just a wonderful builder of worlds, with the best aliens since C. J. Cherryh, but she has really appealing characters, flaws and all.

7488

Horse, Geraldine Brooks

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7489

Just finished Lessons in Chemistry andā€¦meh. It was honestly bored through most of it. Wasnā€™t a great read for me.

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7490

I am listening to it on audiobook (or was - it was automatically returned and I wonā€™t get to finish it for months now) and Iā€™ve been wondering what all the hype is about. On the other hand I kept listening and even missed an exit on the highway so I think Iā€™m more into it than I think. I often just stop listening to audiobooks after a few chapters and I kept on with LIC. So Iā€™d say so far I have a mixed review. We will see how I feel when I get it back a few months from now (600 people on the waitlist but they have 100 copies across the system). I just started the audiobook of Now is Not the Time to Panic. I loved the audiobook of Nothing to See Here but itā€™s a different narrator. But hopefully the book itself is just as good.

7491

I have been wanting to read Lessons in Chemistry for several months, but after reading several ā€œmehā€ comments here, will wait for it to be on sale for a song before I download. Thanks for the opinions.

7492

Apparently Iā€™m 297 posts behind on this thread but thought Iā€™d strongly recommend ā€œHow Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Themā€ by Barbara F Walter (before I begin catching up on the backlog). Itā€™s very readable and clarified for me many of conflicts that I knew something about but lacked adequate historical, social and political context for them. Towards the middle of the book I felt rather despondent but then the second part kicked in - overall, an excellent book.

7493

I just finished Will Schwalbe, We Should Not be Friends and highly recommend it. Itā€™s a true story of an unlikely friendship. I have also read one of Schwalbeā€™s earlier books, The End of Your Life Book Club Both are nonfiction, well written, and relatable.

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7494

I loved The End of Your Life Book Club and I hope to get to We Should Not Be Friends at some point. Thanks for sharing your opinion!

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7495

I havenā€™t read it yet, @ignatius. Iā€™m on the waiting list for it at my library, but Iā€™m thinking about buying it to add to my S.A. Cosby library!

And thanks for the Lariat List - I appreciate that! Iā€™ve only read two of the books on this yearā€™s list (Sea of Tranquility and What Moves the Dead.) Both were good, but not as good as Razorblade Tears.

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7496

Thanks, @ChoatieMom! I didnā€™t think anyone noticed I was gone!

Itā€™s been a crazy 18 months: Retirement. Selling our old house (after 35 years in the same place) and buying a new house. Moving 700 miles to a COLDER CLIMATE to be closer to D and her family. And then, on top of that - my D and SILā€™s house was hit by a tornado last May! They (and their three-year-old and their 3 cats) moved in with H and me for the past 10 months. They just moved back into their renovated home last week.

All this to say - I havenā€™t had much time to breathe (or read) over the past 18 months. Just now getting back to a new normal. Maybe I should write a book!

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7497

I had read nine on Lariat List. My favorite of those I read: The Hacienda

And ā€¦ no wonder you havenā€™t been around the last 18 months. A sincere Welcome Back!

7498

Have you read City on Fire? Iā€™ve heard good things about it.

7499

Iā€™ve had that book on my kindle for a long time but I just canā€™t bring myself to read it. I know itā€™s going to be upsetting. But Iā€™m feeler braver after seeing several posts about it here. Did you read Jon Krakauerā€™s book about college rape? I think it was called Missoula.

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7500

I did. As always, he did a good job of making a very readable book as he told a true story and brought in a lot of information around the topic.

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7501

I havenā€™t heard anything about City on Fire. Author: Don Winslow?

7502

No, I didnā€™t.

7503

Yes, itā€™s Don Winslow. Itā€™s been well-reviewed, but Iā€™ve never read a Winslow book that I loved. Probably just me, since heā€™s very popular.

I think itā€™s first in a series (the second book comes out later this year)

7504

It is more about her recovery than graphic details. It is incredibly well written.

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7505

Good to know. Iā€™ll move it back to the top of my list. Thanks!