I am reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and really enjoying it. Sorry if it was mentioned upthread; I didn’t read the whole thing!
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I absolutely loved that book. Brilliant. My best book of 2023 (when I read it - I think it came out the year before)
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Demon Copperhead was an excellent book, memorable characters and story. But definitely serious topics, not lighthearted reading.
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Definitely not lighthearted, but so well written. I was sad when it ended because I wanted to keep reading!
I never read (any) Dickens but knew the broad brush strokes of the story so there was also this sense of inevitability for me about certain characters/plotlines. She really adapted it well.
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This is an older book, first published in 2004, but it’s the best book I’ve read in awhile. Child of the Jungle by Sabine Kuegler.
A couple of weeks ago, I heard the first of a two part interview on my German Podcast, Welt Wach, and the follow-up interview this past Saturday. She was born in Nepal in 1972 to two German missionaries/linguists. After 3 years, they were sent back to Germany. When she was 5, her father was sent to the West Papua, Indonesia where we made contact with the Fayu - a tribe still living in the stone age who had no memory of seeing a white man. Once the tribe accepted him - a minor miracle, as they are/were a VERY violent society - the family moved there. From age 5-17 she lived in the jungle with the Fayu, learning to hunt, eat insects, worms, bats, snakes, etc. No running water, no electricity.
At 17, she was sent to a Swiss Boarding school, and had to learn everything that we take for granted - how to cross a street (She still struggles with navigating cross traffic to this day!), time - there is no past or future in the jungle, no appointments, no clocks. Everyone lives in the moment, etc. Meanwhile the stories of how her family taught by example how to forgive and love, and how that has changed the tribe for the better are so inspiring. I couldn’t put it down. Plus, after listening to 2 hours of her speaking about her experiences, I could hear her narrating the book.
There are two more sequels, but this was the only one my library has, and the last one might only be in German.
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I just finished Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles. It is a series of short stories and a novella. The crafting of the stories is terrific, especially of the short stories. The writing is wonderful; evocative, clever and almost spare at times. We read it for my book group. All of us loved it.
Towles has written several other books. My book group members told me that The Gentleman in Moscow was also outstanding.
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Gentleman In Moscow was outstanding!! Don’t miss it! It was also an amazing series on HBO or Showtime.
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I loved Table for Two. Gave it to my D for Christmas and she also loved it. We both previously read Gentleman in Moscow–one of my all time favorite books. I think I’ve read everything Towles has written.
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Thanks for the recommendation of Table for Two. I loved A Gentleman in Moscow but was less thrilled with Lincoln Highway. (Didn’t hate it, but expected more .) Glad for the push on this one!
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Oh, I didn’t know he’d come out with something else! I have enjoyed all his books.
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The Collected Regrets of Clover was surprisingly good considering the subject matter.
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I agree. Just finished “The Collected Regrets of Clover” this week, really enjoyed it.
I am almost finished reading “The Last List of Mabel Beaumont” for my book club. It reminds me a bit of “A Man Called Ove”, quite good.
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I found “The Last List of Mabel Beaumont” on hoopla and listened on a whim. I really enjoyed it! Great characters.
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Was it here that God of the Woods was recommended? I enjoyed most of it but the ending felt contrived.
Just finished Black River by Nilanjala Roy, which I think was an NYT rec. slow starter but I had really enjoyed it by the end. Lots of layers.
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Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was in my Teacher Appreciation goodie bag. It was heavily discussed on this thread 2 years ago, and I had forgotten about it. I’m excited to finally get something useful from our very generous parent association (it’s almost always food that I can’t eat due to allergies).
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We read it for the CC bookclub too. I loved it.
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I just finished Moloka’i by Alan Brennert. It was wonderful. We lived in Hawaii twice. The second time we went to Moloka’i my daughters were too young to ride down to Kalaupapa. I would like to have seen it.
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@silverlady I loved that book!
Dh and I lived in Hawaii many years ago when he was stationed there in the Navy. I knew nothing about the leper colony until I lived in Hawaii!
We were fortunate to be able to visit Kalaupapa when we spent a weekend on Molokai. We didn’t have kids then and did the sightseeing flight that went over the island and then landed in the village. Such an interesting, albeit unfortunate history. The man who did our tour had been removed from his family when he was about 5 y/o. He eventually married a woman who had also been sent there, they had children. Even after they had the opportunity to leave, they decided to spend their lives there as they knew no other life. Their kids left for college and then chose to stay on the mainland after graduating for better job opportunity.
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Moloka’i is one of my all-time favorite books!! I love historical fiction and have an affinity for Hawaii - my brother has lived there for 45 years and I have been many times to visit. The history is profound and the fear, sadness and resilience of the characters is captured so well. Highly recommend for those who enjoy historical fiction. I enjoyed the follow-up book, Daughter of Moloka’i as well. @4kids4us how cool that you got to visit Kalaupapa and meet an original resident!
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I just finished My Friends, the latest from Fredrik Backman . It was excellent, he is such a great writer. I highly recommend.
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