I found the distain and ignorance when she (the main character, whose name I don’t remember) went to seek help from the VA to be stunning.
2 Likes
Not just once, but twice!
3 Likes
I really like the author’s blog posts but…just couldn’t warm to the book.
2 Likes
Finished Sandwich today. If you’re looking for a fast but perhaps relatable read (some parts really were for me) give it a try. Follows a family with grown children on their annual beach vacation and for the main character adjustment to things like aching for the days when the kids were young, aging parents, menopause, and family loss. I chuckled and I was often touched.
7 Likes
I have that book on my hold list on Libby.
I just finished The Women last night. I think it will stay with me for some time. I highly recommend it.
3 Likes
I found it readable and she has lots of great observational details. By the end, though, I wa a little disappointed because I felt the book shied away from presenting conflict or overall, important scenes. For instance, there’s one big reveal that the book builds up to throughout, but when the relevant person finds it out, the friction is minimal and things just move on. A couple major decisions/events happen off camera–in fact most of them do. I just got a sense that the author shied away from presenting difficult scenes to write (this is my writer viewpoint showing.) But it did read fast and had clever dialog and observations–they just, to me, stayed more on the surface than I would have liked.
1 Like
LOL - I just took a break from reading Sandwich and logged in here. I’ll avoid the replies in case of spoilers. I’m at the part where the grandmother collapsed on the beach. I like the humor and the looking at one’s adult children and remembering longingly the little kid days is hitting home for me. I didn’t have the Sandwich experience though because I lost my parents early.
4 Likes
You’re probably right about some of that. I don’t tend to over analyze or see a book another way. I read it, either like it or don’t and move on! 
4 Likes
“Over-thinking” is my middle name, lol.
5 Likes
I just finished “Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange. I enjoyed “There, There” but liked this book better.
3 Likes
Anyone else notice how many novels lately have one chapter written in one era or decade, then the next jumps (or falls back) and then back and forth? Maybe I’ve just stumbled on a bunch of them, but it seems every book I start has this formula. Not sure if I like it - especially over and over.
4 Likes
Funny… I made that comment about “The Women in the Castle, the first book at my Covid/Zoom book club (still going). The others assured me it is fairly common. Now that I’ve been retired 4 years and reading a lot, I find that is true. For some reason it seems more common with WWII novels.
I just finished “The Running Grave” by Robert Galbraith (aka J. K. Rowling). What a great book. My daughter got me hooked on the books and each one gets better and better. I am glad that I finished today as I still have to read the book for the Book Club due October 1.
2 Likes
Yes, that seems to be such a trend! I remember feeling relieved when reading Zorrie by Laird Hunt … it was all chronological, one person’s life … it seemed old-fashioned! Not one of the very best books I’ve read, but I enjoyed it and felt almost rested by it.
1 Like
@mom60 I also am reading The Women for my local book club! So readable, powerful, and thought provoking. Really enjoying it (hard topics but very engaging).
My digital loan ran out on Libby (and there’s a 69 person wait for it!) so I broke down and ordered the hardback from Amazon to finish it. I have to know what happens!
Will give the book to a nurse friend when finished…
5 Likes
If you turn off WiFi connection you can keep it as long as you like. It is still “returned “ but the copy stays on your Kindle.
6 Likes
Oh my gosh I heard there was a way to keep those loans! Couldn’t figure it out thanks for sharing. Oh well my nurse friend will have a nice hardback copy now!
I was going to say that about the wifi too but wasn’t sure if you were using the book via Kindle or just as an audiobook on Libby. Definitely works on Kindle to turn off wifi and keep a download.
1 Like
I have Libby app on my IPad and did that. But forgot I also had the app on my phone so they got the book back that way. Outsmarted! 
.
2 Likes
Finishing up the new Elizabeth Strout book “Tell Me Everything”, and highly recommend to all the Lucy Barton lovers out there. It’s as beautiful as ever, but perhaps flows a bit less smoothly. That still means it’s highly readable!
7 Likes