I had the same misconception and recently learned that I was wrong, LOL.
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Put Wild Honey on my reserve list at local library.
That was the April CC Book Club selection so you might enjoy the discussion.
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I love the Harry Bosch books and how he creates interlocking universes. My recent favorite has been his books featuring Renee Ballard, the night shift detective who surfs and sleeps in a beach tent by day.
I am looking forward to reading Towlesā Table for Two. I must admit that I was underwhelmed by The Lincoln Highway, and I am looking forward to seeing him get back to what he does best.
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I went to the library to pick up a book that was ready for me and was handed Mad Honey as wellāthe same day I requested it!
Let us know what you think. The Lincoln Highway was ok, but it did not live up to expectations after the Gentleman in Moscow
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Returning to this thread after a long absence so forgive me if books I suggest have already been mentioned.
I do recall several people here liking All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I loved it too and read it after the compelling About Grace by the same author.
Other books Iāve recently enjoyed are American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins and So Much Blue by Percival Everett. I know Everett is having a moment because of American Fiction, but Iām in no hurry to read the book the movie is based on. Personally, I like to read multiple works from authors to get a feel for their oeuvre before reading their most popular work; I first need to determine whether Everett is a good author before reading Erasure. I also read Trees and it was unexpected and a little disturbing.
I loved the The Lincoln Highway. It is like a modern dayTom Sawyer. Rules of Civilty also by Towles was excellent too and those who love Fitzergeraldās The Great Gatsby will be as enamored as I was. Fun literary tidbit: a character from Rules of Civility also appears in The Lincoln Highway.
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One of the central characters from Rules of Civility returns in a novella thatās part of Towlesā new story collection Table for Two.
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What an interesting comment! (And by the way, Iām fine with people coming in to give belated reviews, I rarely get to the bestsellers when they are brand new.) But back to your comment, for me, I feel guilty about only watching the movie of a book. I prefer to read the book first if I can, because inevitably movies will take out a lot of the complexity and sometimes even seem to miss the point entirely. (Example: The English Patient which turned the book into a cheesy love story.)
I am currently reading Erasure, but Iām not too far along so while I can already see some differences, I canāt really comment yet. I thought this commentary on Everettās work was really interesting. The Unavoidable Percival Everett | Los Angeles Review of Books
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Interesting, I hadnāt read anything by Everett until all the talk about James. I am about 1/3 of the way through the book and loving it.
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This really resonates with me today. I read āA Man Called Oveā by Fredrik Bachman a few years ago and was meh on that book. But I was (reluctantly ) talked into reading āBeartownā by the same author and finished it last night. It was easily one of the best books I have read in a very long time. Loved the characters, story and observations about human nature.
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I could have written the same! When I first heard of this book and its relationship to Huckleberry Finn, I thought it might be like Demon Copperhead in a derivative sort of way. Itās not - itās original and a very good read.
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I loved both Demon Copperhead and James. Both written by exceptional authors, doing very different things, though both connected to classic novels.
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Recommending The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li. Itās a beautifully written, disturbing, and incredible story of childhood friendship and manipulation ā all at once. Hardly a sleeper, but one that slipped by me when it first came out.
Itās made me curious about her other books. Would love to hear from anyone here who has read any of them.
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I searched this list just now and saw Monica Wood mentioned a few times, but not her newest, How to Read a Book. It came out in June. It verges on too sweet but somehow manages not to be. It is warm and full of heart ā plus cats and smart parrots.
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@gardenstategal , I just borrowed the ebook, on the strength of your recommendation ā the first I have heard of The Book of Goose. See, you are an influencer!
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Just catching up on this thread.
Loved Demon Copperhead. Big Barbara Kingsolver fan. Have read all her stuff.
Loved Tommorow Tommorow and Tommorow and have read all the other Gabrielle Zevin my library has which I think is all of hers.
Got halfway through the Lincoln Highway and realized I really did not like it. I enjoyed A Gentleman in Moscow but Lincoln Highway felt like drudgery to me so I stopped.
I am currently reading āThe Calculating Starsā by Mary Robinette Kowal. Itās a dystopian take on the space race set in an alternate universe, one where Dewey won the presidency instead of Truman (not a spoiler). It isnāt as sci-fi as that sounds. It reads more like Lessons in Chemistry combined with Hidden Figures. Iām enjoying it. Canāt say if itās great literature yet or not.
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Iām not usually a fantasy reader, but I had enjoyed previous books by Robin SloanāSourdough and Mr. Penumbraās Twenty-four Hour Bookstoreāand saw that his new novel was out, Moonbound, which is very, very fantasy. I ended up really really enjoying it. Very much recommend (I donāt ānotā like fantasy, just not usually what I read, but this one is really about being human and the power of stories. Excellent book!)
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Just finished Erasure by by Percival Everett. I loved the movie adaption (American Fiction), but more liked and admired the book. You get inside Monkās head a lot more and there are a lot more literary allusions made both to semiotics and the like (which made my head hurt when I was in college) and to a lot of classic Black literature, some key pieces of which, (in particular Ralph Ellisonās The Invisible Man), that I have yet to read, so I missed some of the cleverness. His relationship with his mother is very poignant.
I thought I hadnāt read anything of Everettās before, but poking around while trying to get some thoughts about its ending I discovered I had read his wildly clever short story āThe Appropriation of Culturesā. You can hear him reading it on Selected Shorts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdSy7LOwzHQ
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I may have missed it being mentioned, but I am halfway through All the Colors of the Dark and it is fabulous.
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